by Gene Patterson

Created on: August 14, 2010   Last Updated: August 22, 2010

If you know what you are doing HORSE poker can be on of the most lucrative games of poker possible to play.  The main reason it is such a good money maker is that so many people are so darn bad at it. 

HORSE is a game that actually changes as the game is played.  Each game is played for one blind round.  (often 9-10 hands) then it shifts to the next game in the sequence. One of the biggest mistakes you see in HORSE is people betting as is they were playing the previous game in the sequence.

HORSE stands for:

H : Hold’ Em’ (limit)

O: Omaha Hi Lo

R:  Razz

S: Stud (7 card)

E: Eight or better Stud  ( more commonly known as Stud Hi/Lo)

All of these game variants may not be familiar to you so I will go through them one at a time to give a BASIC description of how they are played.

•  Hold em' :  Just like you see on TV. except the betting round progress, but there is a cap on the bets.  (no ALL IN)

•  O  maha:  A community card game.  Each player will be dealt 4 cards.  Then 5 more will be dealt as community cards (like hold em)  The difference is you HAVE to use two of the four card in your hands.  This twist and the fact that with two extra card are in everyone's hands often throw people and make them make mistakes.  ( a strait is will almost always lose if a flush is even possible "on the board" for instance)

•  R azz:  A 7 card stud variant (will talk about that game next)  It is basically trying to make the worst hand possible.  (which I love because my luck is THAT bad)  The best hand possible is A-2-3-4-5 .  Flushes and straits do not count against you.

•  S tud./ E ights or better:  Both Normal and Hi/LO.  In stud you will be dealt 2 cards down, followed by 4 community cards, and then one final card down.  It is the classic "old school" poker game.  for Hi/Lo  just like the name sounds there shall be two winners in the hand.  The best hand and the one with the lowest cards.  You can use any of your 7 possible cards for any combination, so it is possible to win both hands or what they call "scooping".

If you have never played HORSE it is a very fun game.  Just do it for very low stakes (or free) until you really get the hang of it.  Once you do, just knowing how to play the game will give you a nice advantage over all the people, "trying it out"

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