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Even if the man who has raised is in the total steal position and would raise with any three cards and you have two bike cards in the hole, there is nothing wrong with throwing your hand away; especially in the $15–$30 game where you are only getting 2.8-to-1 at this point.
In the $30–$60 game you are getting 7-to-2 and this could swing it to a call. A little bit also depends on how well your opponent playing poker. The worse he plays the more you might be tempted to call.
To summarize: even when you are high, don’t call a raise if you are up against a man who you are sure has a hand, if you are up against two or more players, or if your cards are not live.
This concept of how live your cards are is a good starting point for our discussion of normal playing poker hands. Many players do not realize the importance of the cards that are out in the game of razz.
They readily see it in a game like seven card stud, but don’t think it means much in a game like razz. They are wrong. Especially with a medium type hand.
A hand like can be anything from a fantastic hand worth maximum raises to a hand that should be thrown away.
Anytime you pick up three low cards the first thing you should do is notice the exposed poker cards. While it is good that the cards that make your hand are still in the deck, it is doubly good if the cards that pair your hand are gone.
In fact, it triply good if the cards that pair your upcard are gone. Since razz is a game of strong boards, if the cards that pair your upcard are gone you can only make a pair if it hidden.
This is a tremendous edge. But even forgetting about this last factor, the fact is
is a favorite over
if there is, let’s say, one 7, one 4, and one ace gone. After looking at the cards that are out, you can now adjust the strength of your hand based on those cards.
Obviously, everything else being equal, a three-card bike would be considered an excellent hand, a three-card six or seven-four would be considered a good poker hand, a three-card rough seven or smooth eight would be considered a fair hand, while a three-card nine or rough eight would be considered a poor hand.
In fact, I will use these adjectives in describing how to play various hands. However, the cards that are out can easily shift your had at least one category.