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HORSE Poker Game Play and Strategy

If you are a poker fan, you might have heard of a poker variation known as H.O.R.S.E. poker. This is a variation played at the World Series of Poker. You may be wondering what is H.O.R.S.E. poker. In this variation of poker, there are five rounds played and each round has a different kind of poker. So, the first round is Hold’em followed by Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud High and Seven Card Stud High-Low Eight or Better, or Hi-Lo.

Basically, every time one full round is over, the game changes in H.O.R.S.E. poker. Usually in tournaments, the game can change either after each round is over, or after a set amount of time.

In order to player H.O.R.S.E. poker, you have to be an outstanding poker player. Otherwise, you will not last very long on the table. But then, this is true for any kind of poker.

When you look at it, H.O.R.S.E. poker is not really a poker game. It is a format of poker that requires a player to use different strategies for each round. It goes without saying that observation is a vital part of playing this format of poker. You have to observe how your opponents play, look for their weaknesses and then make use of those weaknesses.

There are many online casinos that offer H.O.R.S.E. poker as it is fast becoming popular. When it comes to learning strategies for playing this format, it goes without saying that you first have to learn the strategies for individual games used in H.O.R.S.E. poker. While Hold’em is one of the most popular formats of poker, not many poker players, especially beginners could have played Razz poker. So, if you are one of those, then it is time to learn some strategies of Razz before you try your hand at H.O.R.S.E. poker.

In case you did not know, Razz is a seven card stud. It is played just for its low hand. For beginners, this version of poker can be confusing, but if you are serious about H.O.R.S.E. poker, then you should learn the nuances of this game first before attempting to play H.O.R.S.E. poker.

Omaha hi-low and Seven Card Stud hi-low are poker variations where half the ante goes to the high hand and half the ante to the low hand. If you do not know these formats, then you first need to get familiar with them.

Usually it has been seen that many H.O.R.S.E. poker players come to play this format after mastering Hold’em. This means that this round would be a strong round for all the other players too. So, do not attempt to play high stake games at the very beginning. It is advisable to go for middle stakes initially. Just make sure that you have the same limits that you had while playing Hold’em. This way you will not lose that much while playing H.O.R.S.E. poker initially. But bear in mind that there might be players who are good in all the variations used in this format of poker.

The first strategy for playing H.O.R.S.E. poker is to ensure that you can hold your end in each round of the game. If you are unable to do so, then you can be sure that you will lose money. That is it is important to first master the techniques and strategies of playing the individual games before coming in a H.O.R.S.E. poker room.

In the beginning, you have to be rather selective with the hands you are playing. However, if you decide to enter the pot with the hand you have, you immediately need to adopt an aggressive style. In order to do this, you need to know which good hands for each type of poker game.

If you are playing low stakes H.O.R.S.E. poker, you will find that some players are good at one format, but cannot handle other games. Usually this will be seen for the Razz and Omaha hi-low rounds. If you are good at these to games, then you can easily win in these rounds of H.O.R.S.E. poker. Read more

2011
08/19
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Poker Game
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5 Tips For Beating Speed Poker Games

Speed Poker is a new online poker variation which dispenses with the idea of fixed tables and instead pools players into groups based on their game and buy-in level preferences. This game works by combining players 5 at a time into a poker hand, and as soon as a player folds they are immediately put into another hand with players from their pool.

This makes for a fast and entertaining poker game, with none of the ‘dead time’ between hands which is the norm in poker while other players make their choices.

In order to beat Speed Poker games you will need to make adjustments. Since you will not have the time to make reads on individual players and situations, playing a ‘standard’ poker strategy can leave you vulnerable.

Here are my 5 tips for beating Speed Poker Games:

#1 – Position Becomes More Important

Acting after your opponents is a huge advantage in any poker game, you get extra information on how they act after the flop (for example) before you have to put more chips into the pot. In the pooled-player game this is even more important. You need to make some assumptions about the ranges of hands opponents will be playing, and how they bet on each betting round can slowly complete this picture. Vital when you do not have the opportunity to read any one individual for long.

#2 – Avoid Easily Dominated Hands

Hands which are easily dominated include holdings such as Ace-Eight and King-Jack. With these hands you could hit the flop and still not know whether you are ahead or behind in the hand. For example your opponent could have an ace with a better side-card or a pair above the 8 – leaving you a 70% underdog to win.

When you have little information to go on (as opponents are coming and going fast!) then being unsure of where you are in a hand is very dangerous. In fact, it can often be better to re-raise with these kind of hands – if your opponent comes over the top you can always throw them away.

#3 – Some Opponents Will Play Systems

With pooled poker games there will always be someone coming up with a ‘system’ for winning. These can include always raising twice the blind, always betting full pot on the flop or always re-raising from the button before the community cards are dealt. If you are observant you will spot players who always do the same thing… once you do it is easy to beat them by putting in a big scary raise at the appropriate moment.

#4 – Beware Of Small Blinds Who Raise

When in the big blind in a speed poker game, you can not fold your hand until someone raises. In the small blind you can instantly fold, if you have a bad hand there is no need to wait and see what the action ahead looks like. This makes players inclined to fold even reasonable small blind hands and move on to the next deal. Following this logic through, if someone waits to act in the small blind it is not usually with a mid-strength hand, if they raise you had better watch out – it could easily be a monster!

#5 – Stay Fresh And Keep Away From Tilt

Players often ignore the psychological effects of playing poker, preferring the more interesting card strategy side instead. This can be an expensive mistake. Tilt, or anger after a bad-beat can be very expensive in such a fast format of the game. Players need to be aware of this and have a plan to walk away before blowing through their bankroll. In addition you should plan regular breaks while playing such a fast format – this can be more mentally draining than some players expect.

2011
08/18
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Poker Game
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