How to play
HORSE is the classic mixed game: five kinds of poker played in turn at the same table, with the same chips. The name comes from the first letters of the games: Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Stud Hi-Lo (“Eight or better”). Here you sit at a fixed-limit cash table with one to five computer opponents. Everyone starts with 1,000 chips and a fresh 52-card deck is shuffled for every hand.
The rotation. Each game is played for 6 hands, then the next one starts, and after Stud Hi-Lo the rotation begins again with Hold’em. The middle of the table shows the current game and which hand of the six you’re on; between hands it shows the next game. Your chips carry over from game to game.
The five games:
- Limit Hold’em. Two hole cards and five community cards, with blinds of 5 and 10. See Texas Hold’em for the full rules.
- Omaha Hi-Lo. Four hole cards; high and low hands use exactly two of your cards and three from the board, and the pot is split with the best eight-or-better low. See Omaha Hi-Lo.
- Razz. Seven Card Stud where the lowest hand wins; aces are low and straights and flushes don’t count. See Razz.
- Seven Card Stud. Two down cards and one up, then three more up and a last one down; the best high hand wins. See Seven Card Stud.
- Stud Hi-Lo. Seven Card Stud with the pot split between the best high and the best eight-or-better low. See Stud Hi-Lo.
Fixed limit everywhere. Every bet and raise has one size, shown on the buttons. In Hold’em and Omaha Hi-Lo it’s 10 before the flop and on the flop, 20 on the turn and river. In the stud games everyone antes 2, the bring-in is 5, and bets are 10 on third and fourth street and 20 from fifth street on. A betting round allows at most four bets.
Side pots, the uncalled bet and split pots work the same in every game. When an opponent runs out of chips, a new player takes the seat with 1,000 chips; if you run out, you can get 1,000 free credits at a new table. Your table is saved between visits.
Strategy
Switch your thinking with the game. The same cards mean different things: a pair of kings is strong in Hold’em and Stud, weak in Razz, and only half a hand in the hi-lo games. Before each hand, look at the game name in the middle of the table.
Low cards are worth more than in other games. Three of the five games reward low cards (Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud Hi-Lo). Aces and deuces are valuable in all of them.
Fixed limit means patience. You can’t push anyone off a hand with one big bet. Win by playing more good hands than your opponents and by making them pay when you’re ahead.
Watch the up cards in the stud games. Folded and live up cards tell you which cards are gone. Count them before you chase a draw.
More poker. Each game has its own table: Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Stud Hi-Lo.
If you enjoy HORSE Poker, try Horse Race or Ice Palace next.
