H.O.S.E. is a high stakes variation of poker that incorporates four different poker variants and is an acronym of their names. These are Hold’em, Omaha Hi Lo, Seven Card Stud, plus Eight or Better Seven Card Stud. It is also sometimes known as S.H.O.E, which is merely a rearrangement of the first letters of the acronym.

This is a similar strategic game as the similarly named H.O.R.S.E. This is because it incorporates the several alternative disciplines in poker to prevent experts in any one field becoming dominant. It also requires that players have a good level of experience and skill at all four types of poker. This tends to exclude novice players who cannot generally keep up with the constantly changing games and ensures that experienced players get to play at a high level.

The basic layout for play is that a round of each one of the poker variations is played following the same order of the acronym’s initials, ie Hold’en, Omaha, Seven Card Stud and finally Eight or Better Seven Card Stud. The number of games is set according to the number of players around the table. Therefore, if eight players are seated, then eight games of each version of poker are played.

The best strategy for H.O.S.E is to know each game in depth and have a lot of experience in each. This flexibility will enable you to be able to switch between disciplines smoothly and still keep a keen edge to your game.