Trials of a Poker Apprentice: Gotta see a man about a HORSE

There's been so much talk about HORSE lately that I decided to finally dive in last night and see what it was all about. Full Tilt Poker is pretty much ahead of the curve on this one, as they have plenty of HORSE tournaments and even SNGs.

Now, if you've been under a rock and have no idea what HORSE is, it's a mixed game, or a tournament that changes games every blind level. The first level is limit hold'em, followed by limit Omaha/8, then razz, then seven-card stud, and finally seven-card stud eights or better. Then after level five, you go back and start the whole thing all over again. HORSE is considered the true test of a cardplayer's abilities, because it forces you to apply your skills to different games. And in this year's WSOP, they've added a $50,000 HORSE event this year, which in my mind makes it the true championship event.

Personally, it's not an ideal lineup for me. For one, my limit game is unbelievably rusty. I started out playing limit hold'em and was quite good at it at one time. However, since I converted to no-limit hold'em, I'm the biggest donkey at the table when the game is limit. Needless to say, I didn't do well that first level. In fact, I managed to bleed off half my starting chips.

Secondly, I don't like stud. Never have. As a direct result, I suck at it. And this tournament structure meant playing stud 40 percent of the time.

I was happy when level two began and we got to Omaha. First hand in, it was immediately apparent that there was not much Omaha experience at the table, when the betting was capped and nobody folded. I managed to double up just taking the low end of the pot, although I would have scooped the whole thing had the river not brought the flush card. When level three brought razz, I went on a tear and was soon the chip leader after taking three straight pots. I stayed chip leader nearly the rest of the way, but ran into trouble when we ran through the stud levels the second time around. I tried to fold my way through them, but ultimately finished third.

Still, cashing in my first HORSE tournament was nice, even if my net profit was only $2.50. And, truth be told, despite the preponderance of stud, I actually had a lot of fun playing. Switching up games makes the game far more interesting, and it adds the challenge of surviving your weak spots while making the most of your strengths.

Other than that, I've mostly been back to playing razz (seven-card crack) these days, and I've managed to avoid sinking into that pit of despair that is so common to razz players ... so far. I am well aware that the beatings that razz puts on a player makes no one immune from the suffering it inflicts, but I've been having fun so far. Undoubtedly, that has a lot to do with the many, many people who have no clue how to play the game who have been populating the tables I've been at. I mean, when I sit down and see someone with an exposed king bringing in for the full amount, the warm fuzzies just flow through me. For instance, I played one hand where I had a wheel in my first five cards, I'm betting the entire way, and the fellow to my left, with the pair of queens exposed, was only more than happy to call the entire way. I swear, I could actually feel a lump in my throat when he called that river bet, and felt tears welling up in my eyes when, immediately after the hand was done, he left the table in shame.