In Razz, how low can you go?

Phil Hellmuth, the World Series of Poker’s most accomplished player, has 14 WSOP gold bracelets on his poker résumé. Only two of them have come from a game other than Texas hold ’em.

Hellmuth claimed his record 14th bracelet this year when he won the $10,000 Razz Championship. Hellmuth also won a WSOP Razz event in 2012. In case you’re unfamiliar with this variation of poker, here’s a brief rundown.

The objective of Razz, which is akin to stud, is to make the lowest five-card hand using any combination of the seven cards you are dealt. Unlike hold ’em and Omaha, Razz is a forced-bet game that features antes instead of blinds. Every player must ante up before the hand begins. The ante does not count toward any future bets.

Each player is dealt seven cards over the course of a hand, beginning with two hole cards and one up card. A round of betting occurs after each player has been dealt three cards, and the player with the highest exposed card must put in a mandatory first bet. This forced bet is referred to as the “bring-in.”

Then three more cards are placed face up, each followed by a round of betting, each round starting with a mandatory bet from the player holding the lowest face-up hand. These betting rounds are known as fourth, fifth and sixth streets. The seventh and final card, seventh street, is then dealt face down to each player, giving him or her three down cards. A final round of betting ensues.

In Razz, straights and flushes do not count, and aces are always low. That means the best possible hand in Razz is a wheel (A-23-4-5). A hand such as 6-5-43-2 is known as a “six-low” because its highest card is a six, while a hand such as 8-65-4-3 is known as an “eightlow.” That last hand might also be referred to as an “eighty-six” for its two highest cards, the 8 and 6.

Let’s look at an example of a Razz hand, one that came from the event Hellmuth won this year, the 2015 WSOP $10,000 Razz Championship.

The hand began when Thomas “Thunder” Keller had the bring-in with a K. Brandon Shack-Harris called showing a 10, and then Hellmuth completed (raised) with his 2. Shaun Deeb, who was showing a 9, called, and both Keller and Shack-Harris came along to make it four-way action to fourth street.

Upon receiving a 5, Hellmuth bet 15,000, and Deeb raised to 30,000 when he hit an A. The other two players folded, Hellmuth three-bet, and Deeb called. On fifth street, Deeb took the lead and bet his last 30,000, which Hellmuth called.

Deeb got it in holding 9-74-3-A, but he was behind Hellmuth’s 9-5-3-2-A. Hellmuth actually improved to the nuts when he received a 4 on sixth, meaning Deeb was drawing dead even before seventh street was dealt.

Deeb fell into ninth place, while Hellmuth went on to win the tournament for $271,105.

It was a fairly standard hand of Razz, one where both players started with decent lows, but the run-out made all the difference. Razz can be an extremely frustrating game, as a lot is left to chance. But as Hellmuth has twice demonstrated in WSOP Razz events, skill can put you in a position to win.