Thanks for the replies, even the advice not to do it, and especially the classic video.

I'll consider the pros and cons – I'm sure that it would be more +EV overall to spend my time studying NLHE videos, articles, podcasts etc rather than trying to cram for Razz fundamentals, but (A) I just like the idea of learning a new game, (B) I've been advised that the number of terrible players is surprisingly large and that a little fundamental knowledge will give you a good chance of cashing at least, (C) the field size is so much lower than low-buy NLHE events that I imagine with some serious rungood and a little skill my chance of making a final table, while small to be sure, is probably higher in $1500 Razz than in any NLHE event, and lastly (D) my main Razz advice comes from my good friend and old-guard pro Chad Brown, who is in Mexico getting intense chemotherapy for his aggressive lyposarcoma tumor, and I kind of want to do it for him. 

I found some old Stox videos that look promising. 

We'll see … I won't do it if I'm not feeling great about my level of prep, plus I might still be crushing the $1K from the day before!

thanks all

-huge

ltcolumbo said:

FAR from a pro, but I can give you one tiny peice of advice. 

 

Watch for players that will fold after the last street.  They are your immediate targets.

 

oh and 9 hands are often turned into bluffs…

Thanks!  At this point it's bite-sized nuggets of wisdom like that that are good for me.

Foucault said:

If you already have an understanding of basic strategy (starting hands, when to continue on 4th, on 5th, etc), I'll add this nugget concerning hand-reading. In good steal spots (you open a 6 with a 7, a Q, and a K showing behind you), the player showing the 7 might 3-bet any playable hand, so you can't read too much into his 3-bet. In cases where your own opening range won't be as wide, though, a 3-bet usually represents a premium hand.

So if you are UTG showing 5, and you open with the other players showing 8 K 5 9 2 8 K in that order, and the player holding the 5 3-bets you, you can assume he's weighted towards wheel cards. Many players won't 3-bet a 7 or 8 in this spot (and it's good to note those who will). Even more telling would be if the roles were reversed and if after raising UTG and getting 3-bet by you, Villain 4-bet. In this case 5(6A) might well be the bottom of his range.

In this case, an A or 2 is more likely than usual to pair one of his down cards, and you should be a bit more stubborn when he catches these cards. Conversely, a 7 or 8 is almost surely a good card for him and you should assume it did not pair him and play accordingly. Basically, pay attention to what kinds of hands people will 3- and 4-bet in various situations and take that into consideration when they seem to catch well on later streets.

Thanks for the advice, all. I think I put in a solid effort, busted with ~100 left out of 352, busting in a big 3-way pot with (A8)542 vs xx6KK & xx5KJ when all my chips went in. Betting was capped on 4th street (yep, look back at the up-cards) leaving me one big bet to fire on 5th. Ironically if 4th isn’t capped I’m left with 2 bets, and just maybe they can fold their 3-card hands.
Oh yeah, I improve to a 75 on 6th, guy with KK catches turn & river for 65.

I enjoyed it (in a slow gruesome torture kind of way) and felt comfortable. Definitely made some mistakes that I’m aware of and I’m sure many more that I’m not, but think I did some things well – got an intensely grumbly fold with my busted wheel draw from an old guy showing 4689 – he was the only person at the table I thought capable of folding an 8.

Thanks for all the help. Too bad I didn’t make a deeper run, but I put myself in a good spot to do so, and now I have my first Razz bad beat story…