H.O.R.S.E. Tournament Strategy

While the games that comprise H.O.R.S.E. are for the most part old standards on poker tours and in the larger poker rooms, the H.O.R.S.E. tournament structure is something totally new for most amateur (and even many professional) players. H.O.R.S.E. is a multi-game tournament.

The letters represent each of the five games played:

• H for Limit Hold ‘em
• O for Omaha High/Low,
• R for Razz
• S for Seven Card Stud
• E for Seven Card Stud Eights or Better.

The tournament begins with Texas Hold ‘em and proceeds at set intervals through the remaining four games. All five stages may take place at different times on the same day or over several days depending on the size of the tournament.

While all of the games in H.O.R.S.E. have draws, the same playing style won’t cover the board when you’re aiming for a high hand in Hold ‘em and a low one in Razz. In fact, this is a common mistake when playing a H.O.R.S.E. tournament—not knowing the games. Before you even pay your buy-in, you should be comfortable with all five games. The internet offers a terrific opportunity to sample such rarities as Razz and to familiarize yourself with the unique betting structure of Limit.

H.O.R.S.E. Strategy

Because this type of tournament requires strong play in five significantly different games, it can be hard to develop a comprehensive strategy to cover all of them. The basic idea though when playing in a H.O.R.S.E. poker tournament is the same as in any other tournament—to win more than you lose. To do this, you will need to approach each game stage independently. The best way to come out on top overall is to focus on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. This usually means playing your best games aggressively and playing your worst games tight and conservative.

Another thing to consider is that most of these games are accelerated (also called “Turbo”) to keep the tournament from dragging on. That means that playing too conservatively won’t cut it for long with blinds going up every few hands (or even every few minutes). For Turbo H.O.R.S.E. tournaments you are often forced to play as if you were already at the final table—betting big and strong on hands that are marginal at best in hopes of building a stack fast. The final round is as always the one that will determine your placing, but remember that to get there you will have to hold your own through four other games first.