HORSE Crash Course
H.O.R.S.E. (an acronym for Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud, and Stud Eight or Better) is a game that has rapidly increased in popularity over the past 3-4 years. The game is played by rotating through those five different poker variants in an orderly fashion. The rotation can be done either by time (ie: game switches every 15 minutes) or by hands (ie: game switches every 10 hands).
Here is a crash course for some things to keep in mind when playing HORSE. Realize that the aim of this article is to give you a basic concept of how to play the game so you don’t get destroyed at the table. Entire books could be written about HORSE if you really wanted to dive into specifics.
Hold’em
This should be the variant most people are comfortable with. However, hold’em in HORSE is played with limit betting, which is something that many aren’t used to anymore since most games are played as no-limit hold’em. Some basic tips to keep in mind are pot odds and position. Pot odds make it so that you can call river-bets with fairly marginal hands since the pot will likely have already ballooned to a handsome size. Position is crucial in these games as well.
Omaha Hi-Lo
Don’t show up without an Ace in this game. You want a hand that has a chance at “scooping” (winning both the hi and lo parts of the pot). “Lo” hands involve all five cards being an Eight or lower (no pairs). Any hands with an Ace and a Two are great for drawing to a low. The best hand in this game is something like AA23 double-suited. Hands like JT97, which have no chance of winning the low and very little chance of winning the high are the worst hands in this game.
Razz
Razz is Stud Lo. The best hand is A2345. The key to this game is making sure that your three starting cards work well towards a low. If they do, continue with the hand, if they don’t, fold. This is a very easy game to learn since it’s usually pretty obvious who has the best hand based up on the “up” cards.
Stud
This game has two “down” cards (initially) just like hold’em. Put quite simply: play your hand like you’d play a hold’em hand. Also, pay close attention to the other players’ “boards” so you know when it’s time to fold or raise.
Eight or Better
This is a combination of Stud and Razz where the pot is split by the person who makes the best hand in each variant. However, unlike Razz, the highest card in a qualifying Lo hand has to be Eight or lower. A great hand to start with in this game is Ace-Ace with a Two “door card” (which means the first card face-up). “Rolled up” Aces are very powerful since you already have a pretty good Hi hand a good start at drawing to a good Lo hand. The key to this game is to not get caught drawing to a Lo hand when you know you have zero chance of taking the Hi hand.
