If you want to improve your game without spending any money, you can practice for free at Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker. Both rooms have a lot of players where you can develop your skills before playing with real money. While playing for free money tends to develop bad habits, playing Razz for free for a few hours before moving to real money is a great idea. It’s a game where you quickly realize that certain tactics are the same in play or real money games, and you can learn a lot of the basics playing for free. For more information about the best poker sites for Razz, take a look at our Pokerstars Razz and Full Tilt Razz pages.
With that said, once you have a good understanding of Razz rules, we suggest that you switch to real money games as quickly as possible. Even if you’re just playing micro-stakes, you will play a more focused game when real money is on the line. Also, your opponents will play better, forcing you to learn.
In play money games, opponents will call you down in situations where they won’t in real money games. In limit Razz, there are so many situations where you ‘have’ to bluff (where it is the ‘correct’ play), based on the up cards you and your opponents are showing. In play money games, opponents will continue to call you even though they should fold. They will also catch cards, or simply be able to beat you. When this happens, players develop a fear of bluffing. Since bluffing is such a critical part of Razz Poker, it’s advisable to move into real money games as soon as possible. You’ll notice players folding a lot more often when your up cards are better than theirs, making you a lot more money. This is a principle of the game that you do not want to grow fearful of.