[Gonzopozo]

Razgu

Sitting at an ice-cold video poker machine in Black Hawk the other night, I commented to the little old lady next to me that I had been dealt 3 hands in a row where I had to draw 5 new cards. She replied, “plenty of razgu from that machine, eh?” Now I have heard many colorful terms describing bad hands, but I had never heard of razgu. She couldn’t tell me what the letters stood for – just that it meant a bad hand.

So I started thinking. When is a “razgu” not really a razgu? I’d say when you keep that solo 4 of spades and draw the 3,5,6,7 of spades (that has actually happened to me). I decided to do some checking to see if it’s really better to toss all 5 cards or to keep something in hopes of a miracle draw. Here’s what I found out via some web searches. There were search hits on the term “razgu”, by the way. This information is taken from one particular article by a Mr. Elliot Frome – thanks Elliot.

Basically – dump all 5. Two cards to a straight? Dump them. Three cards to a straight or flush? Dump them. Good riddance. The paybacks are actually statistically better getting five new cards. Most of the positive results from dumping all 5 will be a high pair, but at least you get your money back. Once in a “blue moon” you’ll get dealt a big winner. The occasional big hits on the re-deal are what statistically make the difference over time, by the way. The “expected value” percentages come out even at the 3-card inside straight flush hold versus a razgu dump-ola.

Finally, I read where you can expect a razgu once in every 31 hands. I guess I should have won something for my three in a row, but we all know that’s not how vp works. And now I can stop holding that lonely 4 of spades.

GP