Playing online poker on a nightly basis in the same game can confine your perspective. I didn’t realize the value of being able to play multiple games until a few years ago. At the time all I knew was Texas Hold’em. This is most likely because it is the most popular form of poker and the game seen by everyone on TV.

Thankfully my eyes were opened while watching an interview with Doyle Brunson, the late Chip Reese and Johnny Chan. They were asked about playing other games aside from Hold’em. To a man each of them said they were glad they had explored other games to play because it added an element of thinking to there overall game that would not be there otherwise.

Considering that Doyle, Johnny and Chip are all legendary players and have won tens of millions of dollars between them. Each player has his own style and thought process at the poker table but they all agreed that they would not have as much of an edge without being skilled at the other poker games too. Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Stud, Stud Hi/Lo and Razz are games that most new players do not play. Here are the basic poker rules for each of the H-O-R-S-E games.

Omaha continues to be one of the premier cash and poker tournament games for players around the globe. Omaha is also where you are likely to find the most unskilled players, in relation to Texas Hold’em, as it is not an easy game to master. To play Omaha each player is dealt four hole cards and there is a flop of three community cards, the turn and river. You must use two cards from your hand to make the best poker hand possible. Betting occurs before the flop, after the flop and on fourth and fifth street. It’s as simple as that. Of all the poker games that are played in casino’s Omaha Hi/Lo has the most misread hands of them all.

Razz is another game that is not particularly popular in poker tournaments and very few people seem to know the game. Razz is a pretty straight forward game. Razz has no flushes to worry about so you are basically trying to make the best low hand possible with [A][2][3][4][5] being the best hand. Razz is similar to stud in that you are dealt 7 cards and there is no flop. Razz is very easy to learn but takes time and experience to become a skilled player. There are also many misread hands in Razz too.

Stud and Stud Eight-or-Better

Seven-Card Stud is easy to learn. You get dealt two hole cards and a “door” card dealt face up for everyone to see. Everyone antes and the betting begins with the person with the lowest door card and proceeds with a round of betting after each card. The last card or 7^th street is dealt face down. You must make the best poker hand with your 7 cards and your hole cards are only shown at showdown if it becomes necessary. The thinking in stud is that if you cannot beat what you see then you fold your hand. Stud Hi/Lo or 8/OB is played in the same manner only it becomes a split pot game with low hands eight-or-better. Unfortunately, Stud seems to be a dieing game and is rarely offered in a poker tournament format.

Each player is dealt 2 hole cards face down and must make the best hand possible along with the five community cards. Betting begins before the flop, after the flop and on fourth and fifth street.

No matter how many poker tournaments I play in I am still in the learning process until the day I die. That means that I am constantly on the look out for ways to improve my game.  For me the challenge of becoming a skilled Omaha player has a high motivational factor in that it allows me yet another avenue of potential income at the tables and it gives me a different perspective on thinking things through at the table. There are so many options to consider when playing a hand in Omaha or Omaha Hi/Lo. I find that incredibly refreshing and consider it valuable mental exercise that helps me not only to become a well rounded player but a well rounded thinker and formidable opponent.