Differences in Thinking between HORSE and Hold ‘Em

There are a number of differences in thinking between HORSE poker and the more popular Texas Hold ‘Em variant and some of those differences are discussed below.

The biggest difference in thinking between the two actually has to do with the game of Hold ‘Em itself. As many people are aware, Texas Hold ‘Em is currently the most popular poker variant in the world and in addition to that it also happens to be what the letter H in the acronym HORSE stands for. Therefore, it is very difficult to understand HORSE without first understanding Hold ‘Em, but the difference lies in the fact that as part of HORSE, Hold ‘Em is just one part. You have other games to master as well and therefore the way you approach Hold ‘Em as part of a multi-disciplinary poker learning campaign might be different.

Another difference in thinking between HORSE and Hold ‘Em has to do with the betting structure. In Hold ‘Em, the betting structure can either be fixed limit, spread limit, pot limit or no limit. In HORSE poker, the limit betting structure is always the one that is imposed. It is already complicated enough to learn the strategies of HORSE poker without having to worry about betting structures changing in between the games.

However, while betting structure does not change in the sense that limit is always used, there are other changes in the betting structure within the scope of limit. In the Hold ‘Em and Omaha parts of the HORSE game, the blinds are the primary forced bet. However, in the other three parts, all of which are based on the seven-card stud structure, the primary forced bet is the ante, with a bring-in that occurs later on. Switching back and forth between these forced bets can be difficult for some people and it is just another difference in thinking a person would have to make when switching from Hold ‘Em to HORSE.

Finally, there is the idea of position. If you play Hold ‘Em, then chances are that you are aware of how important position is in that game. However, if you switch over to HORSE what you will find is that position is less important in the three stud games because of the simple fact that it changes multiple times each hand. This is one more difference in thinking between the two variants and one of the things that makes HORSE far more complicated than Hold ‘Em.