Horse Poker
HORSE is a mixed poker game where five different games are involved; HORSE is an abbreviated form to represent the five games that make HORSE as:
- H stands for Texas Holdem
- O stands for Omaha Hi-Lo poker
- R stands for Razz poker
- S stands for 7-card Stud poker
- E stands for 7-card stud high-low-eight or better
If you should play HORSE poker effectively, it is important for you to be well versed in all the five different types of games and their strategies. It makes no sense to play lot of money in HORSE if you are not aware of the norms of at least one of the 5 games.
Special Rules
The game is set to follow particular gaming rules for specific number of hands or for a designated duration of time. After the number of hands or duration of proposed minutes are played the gaming rules in action changes to the next. In some cases, the game changes with each round.
The game thus flows from Holdem to Omaha; From Omaha to Razz; from Razz to Stud; From Stud to stud -eight or better…
There is no pot limit or no limit betting permitted in HORSE games. However, of late several mixed limit games are also showing up.
To play HORSE effectively you have to be good at playing limit holdem. It is important to play all the bets effectively, but you should start getting better in playing limit holdem better to start with.
This is definitely a taboo variant for players who are new to poker. Understanding the rules of the five games is not hard, but switching your playing strategy to suit the fast changes to a newer game requires experience and lot of expertise. To play sensibly and get the entire pot you need lot of practice and persistence.
