A H.O.R.S.E. Is, of course … hold'em (H), Omaha eight-or-better (O), razz (R), seven-card stud (S), and stud eight-or-better (E).
During the 2006 World Series of Poker's inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, Card Player talked to a handful of pros to find out which game they planned to ride to victory, and which one they wished they could just put out to pasture.
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Phil Ivey: Favorite – We play that game [H.O.R.S.E.] every day at The Venetian and Bellagio, with about six or seven more games. So, I feel comfortable with every game. |
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David Singer: Favorite – The stud games. I think I play stud and razz much better than the average person I've played against. Least Favorite – Limit hold'em. You can't make any moves, and everyone plays it fairly well. |
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T.J. Cloutier: Favorite – Any no-limit games. Least Favorite – I hate razz, even though I won a world championship in it. And I don't like to play split-pot games, even though I won the world championship in Omaha eight-or-better. My worst game is stud eight-or-better, but that's just because I don't play it a lot. |
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Greg Raymer: Favorite – My best game by far is stud eight-or-better. I know how to value high-low hands more accurately than my opponents do. |
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Erick Lindgren: Favorite – My favorite is the one they like the least. So, I like razz, Omaha, and stud. Whatever they don't like are the games I want to play the most. |
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Dewey Tomko: Favorite – I see some bad things happen in razz, so I like it when razz comes around. It's not my favorite game, but I wish we were playing razz the whole time. |
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Daniel Negreanu: Favorite – Stud eight-or-better is my best game, period. I don't think a lot of people know that. Least Favorite – Eighthanded razz is pretty boring – unless we have some real bad players. |
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Gavin Smith: Favorite – I don't really like any of them all that much. I guess my favorite would be Omaha eight-or-better and stud eight-or-better. Least Favorite – Stud high. But basically I'm hoping to make my way through these games and get to that final table and no-limit hold'em. |
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Jim Bechtel: Favorite – I like razz because there was a lot of players playing razz who had never played it before. It was probably the most beneficial game. |
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David Oppenheim: Favorite – Razz, because my opponents don't like it and don't play it very well. Least Favorite – Stud eight-or-better, because it's a game I don't like too much. |
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Patrik Antonius: Favorite – Limit hold'em and Omaha eight-or-better are my two strongest games from this field. |
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Andy Bloch: Favorite – Omaha or high-low stud. I like them because of the extra high-low dimension. |
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David Williams: Favorite – Stud, because I guess that's the game I'm best at. Least Favorite – Omaha eight-or-better, because I guess I'm not as good at that as the other games. |