If you mention that you play poker to the average person on the street, they will almost always assume you mean Texas Hold’em. Tournament Texas Hold’em was accepted as “the poker game” when the poker boom hit the United States in 2003, after Chris Moneymakers historic World Series of Poker Main Event victory. Millions of college students, middle aged men and women, and retirees began playing the game which was made famous through ESPN’s coverage.

Many people inside the game of poker only play Texas Hold’em and many of these people do not even understand the other forms of poker that are our there. I recently hosted my weekly home poker game and decided to make it a dealer’s choice game. I selected Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, and 7 card stud as my dealer’s choice games and had to explain the rules and concepts of the games numerous times. A few of my friends, who are quite talented Texas Hold’em players, were not big fans of these new games, as they did not fully understand the strategies to excel at the new games and could not be bothered to apply themselves. A few of the other players at the game, loved the new additions. They liked the added action created in Omaha, as well as the new information and betting rounds created in Stud and Razz.

There are so many different and unique caveats of each game, that it creates new and different challenges amongst each game. I, like many, first learned how to play Texas hold’em competitively. I got into Omaha by playing online and reading books such as Super System. At the time I first got into Omaha, I was a bit burnt out on Texas hold’em. That’s what really got me interested in playing Omaha competitively. Learning the nuisances of this game type and the different strategies involved with Omaha brought back my passion for playing poker. I became a student of the game again, studying and learning everything I could about the game. In the end, I became much better at Omaha, but these strategies and new thought processes also helped me in my Texas hold’em game as well.

Some sites do not offer every form of poker or have as high as volume of games in these different games that they do in Texas hold’em. However, most of the large sites and many medium sized sites have many game types. Full Tilt, Poker Stars, and Ultimate Bet all offer games in Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha H/L, Razz, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud H/L. Just like Texas Hold’em, these sites offer micro stakes, .01/.02, low stakes, $1/2, medium stakes, $10/$20, and large stakes, $50/$100 and above. I would suggest starting at very low stakes for Omaha if you are just learning the game. It is a very fast paced game and you don’t want to blow your whole bankroll before you even understand the game.

Throughout the next few weeks, I will take you on a journey through the various forms of Omaha and the challenges with each form and game stype. I will not only give you a better understanding of Omaha Hi and Hi/Lo, but I will teach you some proven winning strategies for each form of Omaha and the various opportunities involved with each game.

If you can play Hold’em, you know how boring grinding out a session can be.  Unless you are a loose player, you spend more time folding hands than you do anything else.  When you are looking for something with a little more action and that is a lot more fun to play, Omaha is the perfect answer.

The basis of Omaha is the same as Hold’em with a couple of small twists; you get four hole cards instead of 2.  You are also going to have to use two cards in your hand at all times instead of using one or none as you can do in Hold’em.  This adds a ton of action to the game and a lot of ups and downs regarding the strength of your hand from flop to river.

Starting cards in Omaha are very important, much more so than regular Hold’em.  You have to realize that just about every card in the deck is going to be dealt out.  That being the case, the stone cold nuts are more than likely sitting in someone’s hands during the game.  On a nine man table, you will have 36 cards dealt out to the players, 3 burn cards and 5 board cards.  That is a total of 44 cards out, so think twice before bluffing.

One huge difference in Omaha and Hold’em in regards to preflop action is that you will not see a lot of big raises going out.  The only time people tend to hammer the pot is if they are sitting with AAxx and both of the other cards are suited to their Aces.  However, what you will see is a lot of people in every hand because of the nature of the game.  Remember, all the cards are pretty much out that means your hand is loaded with possibilities before the flop.

Now while your hand is ripe with opportunities, you are still looking for certain things.  The first is that you would love to have a suited ace in your hand.  On a non-paired board, the flush will be the nuts and that suited Ace could be your ticket to the scoop.  High ranking pairs are also key starting cards, but lower ranking pairs and huge traps that you have to avoid, especially on a paired board.

Imagine sitting there with 44 and the board comes up 774.  In a normal Hold’em game, you would be firing at will.  Even if they had the 7, it is very unlikely they were lucky enough to land that 4th four at the same time.  With close to a full table calling the flop, you are guaranteed that the 7 is sitting in someone’ hand and he now has 3 other cards to match up on the turn and river versus one.  Your full house is basically worthless in this scenario.  In this case, you are actually chasing down that 4th four.  Do you really want to go into the turn on a 5% draw?

The flop is going to see a ton of action, much more so than in Hold’em.  The main reason for this is that if there is not straight on board, the sets are going to want to get people out.  If there is a straight or flush on board, they are going to bet like crazy to get the full house draws out of the game.  Be very aware of the individual that is just calling in these situations regardless of the bet.  They are more than likely sitting on a monster draw and if it hits, fireworks are going to go off.

The best advice you can get when you play Omaha is to have a strong stomach and really learn how to read a board.  You are going to have to break it down from every angle and see what the best possible hand is because more than likely, it is out there.  This is a game that if you play smart, you can win a ton of money at.  Regardless, you are assured of having a great time and a ton of action during the game.

I have heard many people explain as Omaha, “It’s the same as Texas Hold’em, but you get 4 cards instead of two.” They then deal the cards and the person who received this information, still doesn’t really know what’s going on. While the overall concept of the game of Omaha, could be perhaps very simply explained as Texas Hold’em with 4 cards, we fail to recognize the essential rules of the game that make Omaha a much different and sometimes more complex game then Texas Hold’em.

Throughout the next few weeks and months, I will be spilling my thoughts and strategies about the great game of Omaha to you, as well as some of the strategies of the World’s best Omaha players. But before we begin, I want to explain the game in more detailed to some of our beginning readers.
Omaha is similar to Texas Hold’em in the fact that there will be a flop, turn and a river card visible as community cards. Just like Texas Hold’em, they are used by all players. The betting rounds are also the same as Texas Hold’em, with betting pre flop, post flop, post turn and post river. These are where the obvious similarities stop and the game of Omaha becomes a unique identity, even to players who have played hold’em their whole lives.

Before I get into the details of the game of Omaha, I should explain that there are various forms of Omaha including: Hi, Hi/Lo, 8 and Better Hi, as well as Pot Limit and No Limit for each of these games. We will focus on each of these game types in due time, but for the explanation of Omaha, I will use Pot Limit Omaha Hi, as it is the most common cash and tournament form on Omaha.

In Omaha the two players to the immediately to the left of the dealer are required to post a small and big blind. In some cash games, there may also be a straddle placed on the next to act or antes present in tournaments. Each player then receives 4 face down cards. Players are then given the option to call the blind, fold or to raise pre-flop in order. Players can only raise the size of the pot. Therefore, unless there has been multiple re-raises, you will not see players all-in pre flop, as in Hold’em. After the first round of betting is complete, the players see the flop of 3 community cards, just as in hold’em.

After the flop, there is another round of betting, starting from the dealers left. Again, players can check, bet, raise or fold, depending on the action in front of them. The bets and raises can not be greater than the size of the pot. After the completion of the betting, the turn is dealt. After the 4th community card comes out there is another round as betting with the same rules as post flop. Once again, when the betting is complete the final card is dealt, the river. Players now have their last opportunity to bet or fold. After the completion of betting, players “showdown” their hands. The best 5 card combination, using 2 and only 2 of the players 4 hole cards wins. This is a unique facet of Omaha Poker, that many beginners don’t realize or fail to remember. Players must always use 2 and only 2 of their hole cards. Therefore if the community board reads 4h 4s Ac 7d 7s and you have 4d 2c Qh 10s, you do not have a full house with 4’s full of K’s as you would in hold’em with a 4 in your hand. Your best possible combination would be 3 of a kind 4’s and a Q kicker. Therefore, if someone else held 4c and a K kicker, they would win, as the A and K plays as their kickers. The same occurs if there are 4 spades on the board and you only have 1 spade. You do not have a flush, as you need 2 spades in your hand.

We will get into recognizing these situations more accurately, but you must be aware that you have to use 2 of your cards. This is a very big mistake that many beginners use. Now that we have gotten through the rules of the game, we will delve into the strategies involved in the various forms of Omaha. Join me tomorrow in our quest for becoming betterOmaha players.