HORSE Poker – Not a Game for Horsing Around

HORSE Poker has nothing to do with the kind of horse that neighs and munches on hay, except for the fact that once you climb on the HORSE Poker wagon, you are in for a fun ride!

HORSE is an acronym for five different poker games.

H stands for Hold’em Poker
O stands for Omaha Poker
R stands for Razz Poker
S stands for seven-card Stud high
E stands for seven-card stud high-low Eight or better, or simply hi-lo poker

When playing in a HORSE poker game or a HORSE poker tournament event, the type of poker game played, changes after each round, or after a set and predetermined time.  In a HORSE rotation game, the game being played changes every time the dealer button has made a full round.  House rules will determine how the poker games are rotated.  The rules of each individual poker game are always upheld, and there are no exceptions to this.  It is therefore important for players to know the rules of all five games well in order to play a good game.

A quality that is important in players of HORSE poker is the ability to adapt to each new poker game, and possibly a new playing style and poker strategy, when the poker game changes from one set of rules to another.  It is important to remember that poker players may play different games with different strategies.  Even if you get used to how your opponents are playing, when the game changes, you could be facing the same person with a completely different strategy.  It is helpful to look out for weakness in one of the poker games of your opponents.  If you can play your strengths against their weaknesses, this will give you an edge.

Although HORSE poker has been around for a number of years, it has only gained popularity relatively recently. The game has become very popular in the online poker community with many internet poker sites offering HORSE poker tournaments and games.  In 2006, HORSE poker was introduced for the first time at the WSOP (World Series of Poker) tournament in event #20.  The tournament was limited to players who were already serious poker players as the buy in was quite high at $50,000.  This kind of poker tournament can really show which players may be the best poker players in the world, as they have to be good at a few different types of poker.

HORSE poker can be played online for free or for real money.  The free poker games you can find online are an excellent place for poker players to hone their skills. We would recommend that inexperienced HORSE poker players should play in a game with a low fixed limit.