Avoiding mistakes in HORSE poker
HORSE poker is very complex game when you really dissect it to a granular level. On the surface, it's five different poker games that rotate round by round. If you know the hand rankings and what wins and what loses, you can beat HORSE, right? Wrong. There's far to being a good HORSE poker player than just knowing what beats what. Even if you're a new player to HORSE however, there are a few mistakes that you should work to avoid making while playing the game.
HORSE Poker Mistakes
The first pitfall that many players step right into is chasing draws in the Stud games and RAZZ. If you're more familiar with flop style games like Hold'em and Omaha, there's a natural tendency to chase flushes and straight draws because each street is dealt individually versus a flop where three cards come after the first round. The danger that this poses to your bankroll is because even if there isn't a raise, it will cost you three bets to see three cards in Stud games. In a flop game you're only paying one bet (again, assuming that there were no raises) to see a flop before determining if it makes sense to keep chasing. The temptation to do this in Stud games is very appealing but it's something that you have to discipline yourself to stay away from at all costs.
Another area where players make mistakes is simple observation. When playing Stud games it's vital that you pay close attention to the door cards that players discard. That's a huge benefit when you're chasing hands such as flushes or straights. If you've seen that two players just tossed that ragged 4 that you needed to hit your open ended straight draw, that's two less outs for you to complete your hand. The same goes for suits because if three players tossed their hand and you failed to pay attention, you may well chase it even though the odds are now greatly against you making the hand. By paying attention and realizing when you're drawing very slim, you can easily fold hands that would have otherwise cost you dearly.
Finally, it's important to realize your own individual strengths and weaknesses. If you're not able to fully understand what games you're truly more adept at playing by reviewing notes and hand histories. You will want to invest in a quality software program such as Poker Office or Poker Tracker. These will allow you to review your play and understand the situations that are profitable and which ones are not. After tracking a large number of hands, over 10,000 at least, you'll be able to spot trends. Any sample size smaller than 10,000 hands isn't really going to be complete due to variance. The ability to spot trends and habits by not only yourself but other players can pay off big time as you progress in the game and increase your limits.
Taking baby steps and just implementing ONE of these concepts above will help your game immensely. Take a shot and try to pick up one good habit and get rid of one bad habit. You'll be surprised at the difference that may make in your poker game.
