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Introduction to HORSE Poker

Some of you may have heard or have event watched the epic Poker After Dark showdowns this week featuring Doyle Brunson and others playing mixed games. If the action has inspired you to take up mixed games or improve your mixed game play, may I suggest that you start by improving your HORSE game.

HORSE poker is one of the more challenging variants of poker that one can undertake. If you are a fan of poker games online, you know that the popularity of this variant of poker has been growing steadily since 2006.

HORSE is a rotation game consisting of Holdem, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Stud 8 or Better. All games are played in a limit betting structure. Many people that play Hold’em and Omaha think that they can just play their games strong and survive in HORSE. This is a fallacy. In this article, let’s look at some basic HORSE strategy.

Limit Hold’em

Limit Hold’em is a much more calculated version of Hold’em than NL. Since you cannot force someone off of a hand easily, it is important to have decent holdings and play your position efficiently.

In many cases, when you come into a Hold’em hand, you want to be raising. Later position in Hold’em allows you the ability to see flops with hands such as two large cards, suited connected, small pairs, and even suited aces. Also, do not be afraid to call down an inferior pair just because an aggressive bettor bets. In many cases, you will have pot odds to make the call at the river with your lower pair.

Omaha Hi-Lo

The object of Omaha Hi-Lo is to scoop pots. You want hands that give you the best chance to scoop the pot. As such, you really want hands that contain an ace, a deuce, and another small card, preferably a wheel card.

Playing non-suited hands in Omaha will get you into a lot of trouble. Another key rule in Omaha is that if you are in a hand after the flop, you need to be drawing to the nuts. Drawing to a second best hand is a recipe for disaster.

Razz

Razz is basically Seven Card Stud Lowball. The worst hand wins. While the worst hand is the winner, you do not want to be consistently coming in with just any three random cards.

Your best starting hands are typically three cards eight and below. The lower your three cards, the better. Keep a close eye on the board for your outs to make your hand. Also, keep a close eye on your opponent’s board and beware of boardlocking. When a player is boardlocked, they cannot outdraw their opponent no matter what cards come.

Stud High

Keeping an eye on upcards is very important in the early streets of stud. This will help you determine what cards are out there and what outs your opponent may have left. For example, if your opponent has three hearts showing and you have two hearts besides the four that have been folded, that leaves only four hearts in the deck.

If he happens to have four hearts to a flush, then he has only three cards left to catch his hand. Also, beware of someone catching an open pair that matches their door card. In many cases, when a player comes into a hand, they have a split pair that matches their door card and they just caught trips. This is almost a certainty if they completed.

Stud 8 or Better

Stud 8 or Better is one part knowing what hands to play and the other what hands not to play. Playing big pairs other than aces will many times leave you drawing to only one half of the pot. If you do not improve, many times your single pair will leave you high and dry.

If you have multiple low cards showing and they have three low cards on fifth, you need to give them credit for a made low. If you only have a single pair, many times you’ll want to get out if their board is straightening or flushing.

One tip that you may not hear in many tutorials is regarding three-betting. If you have a player that is three betting a hand, be aware that they may be rolled up or have a big low hand. This isn’t always the case, but the chance is there. This chance increases if their upcard is nine or higher.

Also, if you have four cards to a low on fourth street and there isn’t a better low draw out there, putting in a bet on fourth will in some cases help to thin the field.

Finally, be aware of what games that your opponents appear good in. It will become clear that some are much more adept in some games over others. In this case, take advantage of the games that they are good in and give them the credit they deserve in their strong games.

If you want to improve your HORSE game there are many HORSE poker games online that you can take a seat at and work on your game. HORSE provides great income potential and is a nice change of pace from the typical NL Hold’em games everyone likes to play.

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