Learning to play HORSE

[PGremlin]

Hi, I think an important thing about poker is that you need to feel motivated to play the game. Sometimes I get bored with Holdem so maybe being able to play other variants of poker would be a good way to keep the game fun for me. I have been playing Holdem for about 2 years now (had a few breaks in between so it's even less then 2 years) , and I feel like I want to learn how to play the other variants of poker too. :$ I decided that I want to be able to play HORSE on a decent level. So first up is Fixed Limit Omaha H/L. I am thinking of playing some low level STT. Is that a good strategy to get some starting experience for a low price? Thought? Opinions?

[ubermonkey1]

Re: Learning to play HORSE yeah i suppose its not a bad place to start really:ok i would recomend playing on stars because at low levels the tables fill up nice and quick (loads of $1 stts and sngs),also the games are not too crazy but easily beatable. i would give each game a go and maybe try some sngs as well. then have a go at the $3 horse tourneys:ok they run every 6 hrs( 4.45/10.45)again this game is easily beatable and also pays down to top 20% so is a good place to test the waters;)

[GaF]

Re: Learning to play HORSE I'm not convinced STTs are the best way to learn :unsure If you are an established NLHE with a history of playing STTs then some tournament strategy (stack management) can get you through the STT without necesarily doing the right things for the variant. If you are happy to take the risk (it will probably cost you money initially) I think micro stake cash tables will give you a better rounding in the variant :unsure

[PGremlin]

Re: Learning to play HORSE GaF, my Omaha is mediocre at best, and my razz is like.... world class awefull and my stud is not very well also. I am... a really bad HORSE player, only decent is limit Holdem :P Do you guys feel that playing mixed games helped your level of Hold'em? Look at the game from a new perspective? After playing a bit of Omaha I feel like chasing a set is almost an artform with Omaha. Dunno if that helps or screws up my Hold'em game :P

[Valiant23]

Re: Learning to play HORSE

I'm not convinced STTs are the best way to learn :unsure If you are an established NLHE with a history of playing STTs then some tournament strategy (stack management) can get you through the STT without necesarily doing the right things for the variant.

That sounds like a great way to learn. :eek Most players who play HORSE have at least one weak discipline. For me its Stud. I started playing HORSE STT's because it was a cheap way for me to understand the mechanics of the variants. My Omaha hi/lo game (as a standalone) is poor at best, but in a HORSE tourney I can survive. I also learn from decent players. Gremlin, are you saying that you want to learn to play HORSE, but you want to be good at the individual components? Out of the five games I would suggest learning Razz, because the principles in that game will put you in good stead for the Omaha hi/lo and the stud hi/lo.

[PGremlin]

Re: Learning to play HORSE Hmmm... I don't need to practice my limit holdem much, so I though concentrating on the other 4 would be better. Try them and see if I get a good feel at any of them next to Hold'em. So far I like learning Omaha best and I really hate Razz right now.

[Valiant23]

Re: Learning to play HORSE

Do you guys feel that playing mixed games helped your level of Hold'em?

It certainly gives you a different perspective. To give you an example. Its the first stage of a HORSE STT. You get dealt AA I get dealt KQs. Flop comes down J T 7. In NLHE its a scary flop but you ought to be able to bet your way out of it. In limit, you couldn't. So you bet your AA like a NLHE player and I call. If the turn is a blank for me I can get out of the hand quite cheaply. Then the river brings the 9 and you're pot committed, in fact I see so many players get so tied to a decent pp that the flop turn and river may as well be dealt face down. I have more appreciation for drawing hands and I feel better at reading flops after playing horse than I used to.

[ubermonkey1]

Re: Learning to play HORSE try one or the other but not both. its mainly because you can easily get mixed up with the two games while playing and also the general strategy is very different. i would try omaha first then progress to hilo. then do stud and razz and stud hilo. the good thing is as you learn one the others become easier to learn;) for instance if you understand stud and omaha hilo then stud hilo and razz should be very easy to pick up:ok it will take a while to get to a decent standard in all of them but you will probably also find it will improve your holdem play as well. omaha teaches you that the improbable is still possible and the value of position. stud should teach you awareness ,remembering the cards out is probably one of the biggest parts of the game. gaf is right btw about cash being the best way to learn to play ,but in omaha especialy it can be a costly way to start. maybe getting a general feel for the game is best first but i must admit to learning omaha on 25c50c tables on boss:unsure

[glceud]

Re: Learning to play HORSE If like me you play a lot of FL holdem you probably multi table. Dont know if an one does , but because of the table observation required at the stud games I would think multitabling effectivly is near impossible. Are you ready to take the plunge into one table at a time poker? I'm not.

[ubermonkey1]

Re: Learning to play HORSE

If like me you play a lot of FL holdem you probably multi table. Dont know if an one does , but because of the table observation required at the stud games I would think multitabling effectivly is near impossible. Are you ready to take the plunge into one table at a time poker? I'm not.

i dont struggle too much anymore with more than 1 table while playing stud,as long as you watch the deal carefully you are usually ok:ok the best way i have found to do this is just to concentrate on the cards that you need to complete a hand (ie cards out that will pair flush or straight you)and those cards that could be helping your opponents hand in the same manner. at least that cuts down on having to remember all the out cards:loon i seem to have a bit of a knack for this which probably helps:) if anyone is wondering why its so important to remember whats out, its because you will see a lot more cards in stud:ok so you should be able to pinpoint odds a lot better than in holdem or omaha. obviously in holdem the max cards you can see are 7 in omaha its 9 but in stud you could get to 7th street and you know where nearly half the deck is. thats something you will need to practise and it is best when starting to play any game to single table for a while,that way you can learn from other peoples styles etc and get a good feel for all sorts of hands .

[DM99]

Re: Learning to play HORSE

Hi, I think an important thing about poker is that you need to feel motivated to play the game. Sometimes I get bored with Holdem so maybe being able to play other variants of poker would be a good way to keep the game fun for me. I have been playing Holdem for about 2 years now (had a few breaks in between so it's even less then 2 years) , and I feel like I want to learn how to play the other variants of poker too. :$ I decided that I want to be able to play HORSE on a decent level. So first up is Fixed Limit Omaha H/L. I am thinking of playing some low level STT. Is that a good strategy to get some starting experience for a low price? Thought? Opinions?

I have been playing a fair bit of Omaha Hi PL SNGs recently and have found the game very soft. Out of a full ring, 1 or 2 dont know the rules and go all in when they think they have full houses and go bust when their trips lose out to a straight or flush! Last game I had there was one guy who raised (instantly put him on pocket AA), i reraised w KKJ10, he went all in and I called. He turned over AAA6 :rollin which meant he had basically zero chance of improving from his pair of aces. As the games are weak I don't know whether or not the low levels will provide any decent experience. If you have the time, maybe start on the $1 or $2 SNG's, win a bit and use your winnings on higher buyin levels just for the experience and to see if your skills are progressing. Yes there is a difference between tourney play and cash games but every bit of experience helps!

[Rah-1]

Re: Learning to play HORSE What are the main differensies in tournament play and cash play in stud games?

[PGremlin]

Re: Learning to play HORSE I tried playing some Omaha cash tables, was up $30, and then I got knocked down. I had fun though, just need to remember that full houses are more common and can beat my nut flush when they push all in.

[PGremlin]

Re: Learning to play HORSE Damn, wish I had learned how to play HORSE by now. With the Hendon MOB that have a HORSE tournament every month I am so inexperienced :(

[PGremlin]

Re: Learning to play HORSE yay, finished 3th in a S&G HORSE on pokerstars, with play money :tongue2 Now relax and play the Hendon tournament for real money soon :D

[Tom Hedonist]

Re: Learning to play HORSE How much rake do Stars charge for their $1 SnG's? FullTilt charge $0.25, which seems like a bit of a piss take. I wouldn't bother learning to play Omaha Hi in order to play Omaha Hi/Lo, instead just try and read up on Hi/Lo and discuss hands here. I say this because some of the starting hands that can win at Omaha Hi, really aren't worth bothering with at a full ring Hi/Lo game - such as middle wrap hands. I also feel someone new to Omaha can easily become disheartened, if they loose too much money too quickly. Whereas Hi/Lo tends to encourage people, as its easier to break even by taking down one half of a pot. I'd also advise cash games, rather than SnG's, as there's a lot less pressuere to play less than premium hands. I think Stars run much cheaper cash tables than FullTilt does. 2+2 has a good Stud forum, which discusses various forms of the game, including Razz. It'd be worth you reading some of the posts there. Its definitely worth learning a bit about Razz, as even a small amount of knowledge can give you a big edge at the micro levels. A lot of the players are simply shocking, and time and again you see the same players making very basic mistakes. Good luck. Let us know how you get on :)

[PGremlin]

Re: Learning to play HORSE Out 69th out of 146. I'm not disappointed since I have so few experience with HORSE games. Can count the nr of HORSE games I played in my life on one hand :P Analyzing my game I thought my Hold'em was best (duh), Second was Omaha HiLo: Liked the low wins but tried to only push when chasing the high and tried not to chase the low except as a backdoor partial win. Raz wasn't to bad, knew when to get out and when to push, using the open cards of my opponents to have an obvious read on their weakness or strength. Stud hi was a disaster. I was just to clueless on my opponent and got raised/reraised al the time and just folded because I didn't know what I was doing there. Eight-or-better (Seven card stud high-low) was bad to, same problem as Stud Hi. In the end it was Stud HiLo I went out, chasing the low (know bad move but I was really lowstack and thought just go for it) with A234 KA2 in the end I agree that I shouldn't play Omaha Hi to learn OmahaHi/Lo, different game. I think I need to focus on my stud game and play more HORSE Cash or S&G? I think I want a bit more S&G before I donate on low stakes cash games (at least double my total amount of experience with HORSE playing S&G) before donating on HORSE cashgames :lol

[PGremlin]

Re: Learning to play HORSE

How much rake do Stars charge for their $1 SnG's? FullTilt charge $0.25' date=' which seems like a bit of a piss take.[/quote'] I see the following rake on S&G on Stars: HORSE $1 + $0.20 HORSE $3 + $0.40 HORSE $5 + $0.50