Does knowing how to play many variations make you a better player?

I'm currently developing my game and getting serious about poker, does it help to know how to play all variations such as 5 card draw, 7 card, Razz, and Omaha (aside from Texas Hold'em) in order to become a better and well rounded player? Definitely give me some feedback on your experience if you play the different types and has it helped?

Depends. If all you want to play is NLHE, concebtrate on that. If you're a micro stakes player, games like razz and the hi/lo games (stud8, Omaha8) generally can be exploited for easy pickin's at most major sites.

Nothing can make you better at a game than just play that particular game. So if you want to get better at NLHE, then play NLHE.

Sure, alternative games can teach you a small lesson or two about other games you might be playing. But if you're playing Limit Omaha to try and gain some euphoric insight into Hold'em, you're probably wasting your time.

I see....the reason i ask cause i notice especially during the WSOP, the pro's play a various tourney's like Razz or Omaha, so thats what struck my curiosity .

The "various" tourneys comprise a big portion of the WSOP, both in # of events and prize $. The ME, while it is the most lucrative and high profile, is just 1 event. Some players specifically excel at the varient games, and go to the Series just for specific events. The late Chip Reese was one such; generally considered the best all around player of his era. Allen Cunningham is another who feasts on the non HE prize pools, as is, believe it or no, Gabe Kaplan.

In recent years, since the Moneymaker explosion, the pros fare better in the non HE events than the ME donkfest. The 50k buyin HORSE tourney has never been won by an amateur online qualifier. My fondest wish would be to 1 day become the 1st.

Well it sure is a lot more fun to play the odd ball games!! At a forum I am in I only play the non no limit free rolls for the practice. And It is a lot of fun to play HORSE.

nlhe whilst fun is boring if u play it all the time way better to enjoy an be conversant at a few games i think

I just finished 16th in a RAZZ freeroll put on by fulltilt. I had no choice but to play it as that's the fantasy freeroll I qualified for. That 7.50 isn't much but it is money i didnt have before. Learn all the games even if you never play one the experience will help make you a more rounded poker player.

Playing stud games has made me more aware of the field and the cards that were folded. It just helps your play to have knowledge that others do not have. Particularly live.

grammar and puntuaction will make you a better forum member. that much i know for sure.

to the OP. learn what you want. but more importantly, want to learn.

Most of the pros say the 50,000 dollar HORSE tourney proves who is the best because you have to be good at all variations of poker. This being said I would have to say that the best poker player is the player that makes the most money from poker no matter how many variations you play all that matters in the end is the money.

I made 3.5 dollars off that one. Its funny how you can play extremely tight and get no hands and still get a good chip stack when you get something just about playable against the noobs on the table. Too bad I kept pairing up and was looking good with my last hand till I hit a boat with the 3 remaining cards after pushing my stack.

And to go to the original question. Definately! My experiences in Omaha have made my Holdem reads much better. Also there are things such as psychology, reading 'people', instinct, etc. that go accross the poker games. Also you can be much more confident in your NLHE game as when you're not doing good you have more choice as to which games to play.

In the end it is all poker, but in a different format.

I played them all before Holdem came along, I am amazed at all the people who only know that game. There are soft spots all over cyberspace if you know all the games, lots of variety and money to be made, I find HE by itself to be boring.

If you know what you are doing, you can clean up in lo limit HORSE, razz, stud etc. while other peeps pay to learn the games. He he he.

I agree with Daniel negraunu in the fact that playing different games helps you in all of the others, especially hold em. In games like limit holdem and omaha, the value of the check raise is important and it allows you to see when you should do it in other games by opening this part of your game up. It's that way with other games, like 2-7 lowball helps you learn more concepts of drawing and the math of doing so. I could go on forever about this topic, but i'm sure you got my point.

Most of the pros say the 50,000 dollar HORSE tourney proves who is the best because you have to be good at all variations of poker.
But to be the best in horse will not say that you are the best in th only or other.

I tend to agree with c9h - playing lots of razz won't make you a better hold 'em player. It could make you a better razz player though.

To some extent, I think the suggestion that you need to be good at a variety of games to be a solid poker player is a hangover from yesteryear when a lot of different games were played, and hold 'em wasn't even offered played in some casinos. So if the only game on offer was stud and you weren't any good at stud, you weren't going to get any action.

These days, there's absolutely no shortage of NLHE action. You could go your entire poker playing career profitably playing just that one game.

I think the real advantage other games offer these days is the additional edge you can get over your opponents by being good, particularly at the lower limits. Hold 'em action is ubiquitous, but the flipside of that is that there's a lot of decent players out there. If you can get really good at razz, for example, you might make more per hour than playing the same limits at hold 'em because you could in theory build up a bigger skill advantage over your opponents.

The other reason for playing them, of course, is that they're fun. I don't kid myself, NLHE is my most profitable game. But that doesn't stop me playing razz or omaha for fun occasionally.

I personaly think it does i grew up playing 5 card draw and 7stud so the first time i played hold em i picked right up on it using all the poker knowledge id already aquired .But i also belive it depends on how versiyile your mind is.omaha helped my crazypineapple and tahoe games evolve.