Razz poker is an under-studied game in comparison to the more popular forms of tournament poker. The game offers a great advantage to skilled players because there aren’t very many skilled Razz players.
The proper strategy for Razz tournaments is surprisingly similar to that of other tournament types. The basic idea is to play tight and straightforward early in the tournament and then slowly increase the aggression as the tournament wears on.
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Hand Selection
Hand selection is a critical skill in Razz tournaments because with the right hands you’ll win way more than your fair share of pots. As a general rule, you should try to only play starting hands that no worse than a 7 or 8 high.
This is a tight starting range but it will take you a long ways in Razz tournaments. Don’t be afraid of looking like a rock because you’ll still get plenty of calls when you play a hand. The tables shift around constantly and most of your opponents won’t be paying you much attention.
Early Stages
In the early stage of a razz poker tournament, you’ll want to stick to the above starting hand guidelines and play a straightforward game. The more you try to bluff and pull of fancy plays, the more you’ll risk busting yourself out of the tournament.
Bluffs are a bad idea in the early stages because most of the weak opponents will still be alive and ready to call. Even as the tournament progresses you’ll want to be very careful in choosing when to bluff.
Middle Stages
During the middle stage you’ll start to see the players tighten up as all the fish get knocked out and the tightwads batten down the hatches and hope to make it to the money. In this stage of the tournament you can loosen up your hand requirements just a bit start to amp up the aggression.
Look for tight opponents with medium sized stacks and attack their bring-ins whenever your hand appears strong. It doesn’t have to be a great hand in reality but if you show the right player a strong up-card and make a raise, he’ll probably fold. You’ll get all the antes, which is a good amount of chips.
Late Stages
The blinds are going to get a lot bigger and the stacks a lot shorter during the late stages of a tournament. At this point, it’s vital that you make as many well-timed steals as you can to stay afloat.
What you really do not want to do is get so short stacked that you have to go all-in on 3rd street and pray. Try to keep up the pressure and prevent yourself from getting too short. If you do end up in a tight situation, however, remember that’s best to be the one pushing than it is to be the one calling. Don’t wait too long either – if your stack gets too short, you won’t get anyone to fold when you push all-in.