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In Razz, I brought in with a Queen (3-2 in the hole) and an 8 completes. Defend?
Heads-up, PokerToast's limit Razz solver calls with 3-2 under a Queen when an 8 completes against its bring-in 94% of the time.
The spot
- Game: heads-up limit Razz, 3rd street.
- You: (3♠ 2♦) Q♣ (down cards in brackets): 3-2 in the hole and a Queen showing: two good low cards and one brick; you brought in because the Queen was the highest card.
- Your opponent: shows an 8 and completed (up: 8♥).
- Pot before this street: 0.3 small bets (the antes).
- Pot size and the numbers: the solver groups pots by size: its numbers here are averages over every pot of up to 1.5 small bets at this point, so in exactly this pot they would be a little different.
The solver's numbers
| Play | How often (strategy) | Worth from here on (EV estimate, small bets) |
|---|---|---|
| Call | 94.2% | +0.48 |
| Re-raise | 5.8% | +0.23 |
| Fold | 0.0% | +0.00 |
Measured on 4,355 play-outs of this situation. The highlighted row is the play that measured best.
Why, in plain words
Call is worth about 0.25 small bets more than re-raise, so putting more chips in does not pay here; folding would give up the 0.48 small bets that call wins on average from here on.
What popular strategy articles say
Defend your bring-in liberally when you have two good cards underneath; the completer often has little.
What strategy articles found by web search said on 2026-10-08 (PokerNews, Card Player, PokerStrategy, pokerskill and similar; mostly written between about 2007 and 2015, and mostly for full-ring games with several players in the pot).
Heads-up, the solver agrees: its main play is call (94%).
Heads-up vs multiway
The numbers above are for heads-up play (two players). Most published advice is written for full-ring games with several players in the pot, so part of any difference can come from that.
We also looked up a 3-handed version (the 8 completes and a third player showing a Jack calls before it is back to you) in PokerToast's 3-handed solver, but its numbers there are not settled (its most frequent play is not the one that measured best), so this page makes no claim about multiway pots.
How these numbers were made
From PokerToast's own heads-up limit Razz solver, trained 3,690,500 iterations, exported 2026-10-05 09:56:29, 35,165 situations (version R-3690500-20261005095629). It learned by self-play (Monte Carlo counterfactual regret minimization) for limit betting, at most four bets a street.
- How often is the solver's average strategy for this situation.
- Worth (EV) is an estimate measured after training by playing the situation out many times against the solver's own strategy: small bets won or lost from this decision on, compared with folding (0). It assumes an opponent who plays like the solver.
- Hand groups: the solver groups similar hands, so the numbers are for the group (here:
0|D251|08|S|ib), not only these exact cards. For each decision it looks at the street; your hand (a made 8-or-better low and how good it is, or how many cards you have toward an 8-low and how many of the low cards you need your opponent already shows); your opponent's board (how many high cards, "bricks", and their highest low card); the size of the pot; and the betting so far on this street. - Stakes: ante 0.15 small bets per player, bring-in 0.25, a completion or bet on 3rd and 4th street is 1 small bet, 2 from 5th street.
- Looked up when this page was built (2026-10-19); a newly trained solver changes the page and its version number.
Practice it
Your equity with these cards Today's Razz Daily Spot Open PokerToast
Part of: Razz 3rd street: completing, stealing and defending the bring-in
More Razz spots: Razz: complete 8-6-3 against a King bring-in? · Razz: defend the bring-in with A-2 under a King when a 5 completes? · Razz: slowplay A-2-3 or complete against a King bring-in? · Razz: complete A-2-3 against a low (6) bring-in? · Razz 4th street: you catch a King, the opponent shows 5-2 and bets. Call or fold? · Razz 7th street: call with a 9-low against K-8-4-2? · Razz: steal with a 7 up (K-Q in the hole) against a King bring-in? · Razz 5th street: 7-5-2 with two bricks against 6-4-3. Fold? · Razz: brought in with an 8 (6-3 under), a 7 completes. Call or re-raise? · Razz 4th street: you catch a 2, the opponent catches a King. Bet or check? · Razz 4th street: you pair your 3, the opponent shows 6-4 and bets. Call or fold? · Razz 5th street: a made 9-8 low against 6-4-3 showing. Call, raise or fold? · Razz 6th street: a made 8-7 low against 7-5-4-2 showing. Call, raise or fold? · Razz: complete a three-card 9 (9-5-2) against a King bring-in? · Razz: a three-card 9 (9-5-2) against an 8 bring-in. Complete, call or fold? · Razz: a paired start (7-3-3) against a King bring-in. Complete? · Razz 7th street: an 8-7 low against 9-8-4-2, checked to you. Bet or check? · Razz: you complete 7-4-2, the 6 bring-in re-raises. Cap, call or fold? · Razz 5th street: four to a 7 with one brick against 6-4-3 showing. Call? · Razz 4th street: you both catch bricks and you act first. Bet or check? · Razz: a rough three-card 8 (8-7-6) against a 7 bring-in. Complete? · Razz: defend the bring-in with 8-5 under a King when a 7 completes?