H.O.R.S.E Poker Rules

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Finally, a game for the true all-around poker enthusiast – H.O.R.S.E. poker. Horse poker is a poker game that is played in 8-10 rounds and features five of the most popular poker games ever. H.O.R.S.E. stands for:

H: Holdem/ O: Omaha/ R: Razz/ S: Seven card stud high/ E: Eights or better seven card stud hi-lo. To know the rules of horse poker, you simply need to know the rules of all five of the different games that comprise a horse game.

Holdem Rules

• Two players to the left of the dealer are the small and big blinds. The player directly to the left of the dealer puts out the small blind while the player to the small blind’s left (the big blind) puts out the big blind bet.
• Players are dealt two face down cards called pocket or hole cards.
• The first move is made by the player to the left of the big blind. This player can bet, raise, or fold. Betting continues clockwise around the table.
• Once bets are made, three cards are dealt face up in the center of the table, known as the community cards. These cards are used in combination with a player’s hole cards to form the best hand possible. This is the flop.
• >Betting begins after the flop with the player to the left of the dealer, who may now bet or check
• Fourth street is the next part of Holdem, with a fourth card being dealt face up onto the board. This is called the turn.
• Another round of betting ensues, followed by the final face up card being dealt, which is called fifth street or the river.
• Final betting takes place. The winner is the person with the best five card hand using their hole cards and the community cards.

Omaha Rules

The rules of Omaha are identical to the rules of Holdem other than the exception that players are initially dealt four face down cards or pocket cards and that their showdown hand after fifth street must be made of two of the player’s hole cards and three community cards to make the best five card hand.

Razz Rules

Razz poker is the same as seven card stud with a huge exception. The lowest or worst hand wins the razz poker pot. The best hand in razz poker is ace-two-three-four-five, which is referred to as a bike or the wheel. Straights and flushes do not count against a low hand. Aces are counted as the lowest card.

Seven Card Stud High Rules

• All players put in a forced ante.
• Starting on his left, the dealer deals out two face down pocket cards and one face up porch card to each player.
• The player with the lowest porch card is called the bring in and makes the small limit bet. Play resumes to the bring in player’s left. Players chose from calling, raising, or folding.
• After betting, another card is dealt face up to each player, which is known as fourth street, or the turn card.
• Another round of betting starts with the player with the highest porch cards showing. From this round on the player with the highest value of porch cards will be the first to act in the round.
• The fifth card, or fifth street card is dealt face up, followed by more betting according to the above guidelines, and then the sixth street card is also dealt face up, followed by more betting.
• The final card is the seventh street card, which is dealt “down and dirty” or facedown. A final betting round ensues, followed by the showdown.
• The player with the best five card hand wins the pot.

Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Rules

The rules of seven card stud hi-lo eights or better are the same as seven card stud hi, other than the fact that hi-lo is a split pot game that can be won by the player with the high hand and the player with the low hand. The two winners split the pot. Because it is an eights or better game, the low hand cannot have a card higher than eight in it.