In order to become a winning Razz Poker player, the first aspect you'll need to learn in proper starting hand selection. Razz starting hands are the number one key element of a great Razz Poker strategy. By knowing the value of your starting hand, you can easily determine whether you bet, raise or fold out of the gate, decreasing chip loss and increasing profits in the long run.

One of the most common Razz Poker mistakes is playing hands that should have been folded. Just having an Ace to work with, or a couple of low cards without an Ace, simply isn't enough to go on in Razz Poker. It is not your lowest car that wins the hand, but the lowest high card. A hand of A-2-3-4 may look awesome, but if the next lowest card is a 9 or 10, it is easily beaten by a hand like 4-5-6-7-8.

To expedite your Razz Poker player growth, we have supplied a card-grouping chart to define what are considered good cards, bad cards and mediocre cards.

A-5 = Good Cards (a.k.a. Wheel Cards)
6-9 = Mediocre Cards
10-K = Bad Cards

When a hand of Razz Poker begins, each player is forced to place the Ante bet before being dealt 3 cards; the first two face down and the third face up. Next, the player with the highest face up card must place the forced Bring-In bet. If you are not the highest card holder, you've made no investment aside from the minimal Ante. This makes folding your hand a highly feasible option with minimal losses, should your starting hand not be favorable.

Now, let's discuss exactly what makes up a good Razz starting hand, and which hands should be folded. Basically, you'll need at least 2 Wheel Cards (A – 5), including an Ace, to even consider moving on. Two or more cards of 6 or higher should always be folded. The chance of being dealt all low cards from this point is incredibly low, and not worth wasting your chips on.

In order to move on with confidence, you should have a very good Razz hand. Below is a list of all the good Razz starting hands. Should you be dealt one of these hands, make he most of it right away. To let your opponents stay in the hand cheaply can result in them achieving a better hand from sheer luck. When you have it, bet it – when you don't, fold it.

Top 10 Razz Starting Hands

A, 2, 3
A, 2, 4
A, 2, 5
A, 3, 4
2, 3, 4
A, 3, 5
A, 4, 5
2, 3, 5
2, 4, 5
A, 2, 6

From this list, we can surmise that any combination of cards that has no card higher than 6, with no pairs of course, can be considered a strong Razz starting hand.