It is not easy to win HORSE Tournaments, in fact the requirement is that in order to win a tournament a player will have to know and be good with all the five poker games.

It doesn’t matter if you’re not excellent in just one game, but you cannot even afford to be the worst at the game. If you happen to be really a bad player at even any of the games, then it could be bad for you. A player should be good at all the HORSE games, no matter what he is challenged at. Your attitude should say that you’re the best at your opponent’s worst game.

When in a HORSE tournament you would probably need to move from one game to another deftly and quickly. The Stud part of the game is where you could likely miss on your footing, and you need to prevent that from happening. The number of cards dealt to you is different from Texas Holdem then the Omaha game. You will need to recognise that the game has moved on to a new game once you see two new cards being held in your hands. These changes are not told of especially in the Stud games since the three versions of the game begin at the same time. The only recognisable feature telling that the game has moved to Razz from either a Stud Lo/ Hi is that in the game of Razz the high card is not the low card but instead is the bring-in. Since the basics of the Stud games are all similar it is quiet likely for players to forget to switch.

Players playing the Stud game invariably lose track of the switch the game goes through, and you have paid enough attention, you would be able to take advantage of this situation. You will have an advantage over the game if you remember the moves, and notice your opponents either forgetting that the game has switched or if the opponents are slow to recollect.

It is important to switch gears when the game moves either to a Stud Lo/Hi, a common mistake made is that several players think they can make do with playing any high hand in the Stud Lo/Hi. A usual happening is that during the entire Stud game, a player who does not get a single decent hand decides to play one as soon as his hand improves, without realising that the game has switched on to Stud Lo/Hi game. This is what one needs to be aware of.

Players often forget that the game has move on to Texas Holdem, and are still in the Stud frame of mind. And instead make certain moves that are not relevant in Texas Holdem but works with Stud. For e.g. you can call in a big blind in Holdem with just one raise, but would not call for a raise after the bringing in, during the Stud game.

As the game changes, your forced bet should also move on and change. When a player playing Razz is the bring-in, it is unlikely that he calls and when the game switches to Stud the player may start to call. And when it moves to Stud Lo/Hi the player starts calling all the more. When the game moves to Texas Holdem and then Omaha , the player will always be calling from a single raise to a big blind.

This may be a very simple strategy, but knowing that the game is switching makes a huge difference. It helps a player to play differently which could lead him to be successful at a HORSE tournament.

Also recommended:

1. Heads up Holdem Tips
2. Texas Holdem (Limit) Tournaments
3. Winning Tough Games
4. Heads Up Texas Holdem Tips: Blinds and High cards
5. Sit-N-Go Poker Tournament Tips