Funny as the name may seem, HORSE poker has nothing to do with the animal. It is actually an acronym which is short for five variants of poker.
H stands for Texas Hold’em Poker, O is Omaha Poker, R is Razz Poker, S is Seven Card Stud High Poker, and E is Seven Card Stud High Low Eight or Better.
In a tournament for HORSE poker, each round played is a different variant of the game.
HORSE poker is a popular rotation game, and is even played in the World Series of Poker Tournament.
A rotation game of poker means that for the whole duration of game play, the type of poker being played can change.
In some cases, players can choose to switch to a different poker variant, say from Texas Hold’Em to Razz Poker, every half an hour.
Still feeling a little stumped about this game? Here are some explanations on each variant in HORSE poker. Sometimes, HORSE poker can just be HOSE poker, depending on the preference of the players.
Texas Hold’em is perhaps one of the most well known variations of the poker game. This is one of the most popular versions which are usually televised from world pro events.
In this type, player with the best or highest hand wins. Player must have the best combo from his two cards plus any three of the five community cards dealt on the table.
Omaha poker also involves having the highest hand to win. In this case, compared to Texas Hold’em, the player gets to pick the best combo from any two from his four cards, plus any three of five community cards.
Razz poker is a little different, because the winner in this poker variation is the lowest hand. In this regard, the player is given three cards, while there are four other cards dealt on the table. Player gets to pick five cards that form the lowest hand from the set of seven cards being played.
Seven Card Stud poker is probably called the big brother of Razz poker. It also involves getting to choose any five cards that form the best combo out of the seven cards being played.
The difference is that the highest hand wins.
Lastly, Seven Card Stud High Low Eight or Better means that there can be two winning hands in a game.
The highest hand and the lowest hand, so the pot is split between them. Eight or better, however, in this regard means that the low hand must not have any card above eight to be considered as low.
|
