Games for Money

The last game in the H.O.R.S.E rotation is my personal favorite, Seven Card Stud 8 or Better.  Stud 8 or Better is a split pot version of Seven Card Stud.  The highest hand takes the high side of the pot, and a qualifying low gets the other half of the pot.  If there is no qualifying low hand, then the entire pot goes to the highest hand.

In Stud 8 or Better, a qualifying low is a five card hand that contains 5 unique cards 8 or below.  If you have a hand of 8, 6, 3, 2, A, then you have a qualifying low.  Aces swing in this game, which means that they play for both high and low.  Remember that for a low there must be 5 unique low cards.  Having a pair of 8’s and 3 other low cards will not qualify for low.  Also, straights and flushes do not count against your low hand.

The object of Stud 8 or Better is to scoop pots.  You want to try and win both the high side and the low side of the pot whenever possible.  Strong hands include baby straights and baby flushes, as well as 2 pair with a low.  The best low hand is the wheel, which is an Ace through five straight.  This hand acts both as the best low and a solid high hand.  Out of all the games in the H.O.R.S.E rotation, most players have the most difficulty with Stud 8 or Better.  The game looks simple, but once you start playing, you will find it tends to be a bit more difficult than even regular stud.

This series of articles was a brief introduction to H.O.R.S.E.  If you want to learn more, I would suggest picking up some books on the individual games and work on each game separately.  There is too much to learn in each game to try and learn it in a rotation format.  I would recommend that you start learning the different games in H.O.R.S.E as this game is beginning to pick up popularity, especially at the highest levels of poker.  It is already considered by pros to be the true test of poker skill.   Also, learning new games will give you an advantage on new players that typically only know Holdem.  I personally tend to profit most from the games in H.O.R.S.E due to that fact alone.  Good luck to you and your quest to improve you poker ability.

James Guill wrote this on April 10th, 2008 and filed it under Gambling |