HORSE Poker is an acronym for Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, 7-Card Stud, and 7-Card Stud Eight-or-Better (Hi/Lo). This is a mixed game form of Poker which involves five different variants in one which are –
The interesting thing about this variant is that each game is played for one orbit before moving on to the next in order. The winner of the first $50,000 HORSE Championship is Chip Reese. Reese along with many poker pros considers HORSE Poker a true test of a player’s acumen.
HORSE is often played in high stakes live games and tournament series like WSOP. This poker variant also serves as an ultimate test for one’s true poker ability by combining multiple forms. The standard HORSE game or tournament usually runs 8-handed.
Game Play
The games are played in order i.e. first Hold’em, then Omaha Hi-Lo, then Razz, then Stud and finally Stud Hi-Lo
All variants of the game are played as Fixed Limit, with the same stake structure used across each variant
If you play this variant online, the current game will be listed at the top of the table border to help you out.
Pros and Cons
Pros
This variant removes the monotony from the game
You can play different variants in one sitting
If you are strong in all the variants, you can get a big edge over other players
Cons
This is surely not for the beginners
If you don’t like fixed limit games, you might not love playing HORSE
Variations
The other common variations of mixed games are – HOSE, SHOE, Drop Razz, etc.