Omaha Holdem

The first time I played Omaha I was shocked. Shocked! You see, I thought I had joined a Texas Holdem tournament - when I saw FOUR (wha??) hole cards you could hear my chin hit the floor. I quickly scanned the top bar of the page to see what flipping poker game I was playing, and then desperately googled "omaha Holdem rules" and read up on Omaha Holdem as the game commenced.

Lucky for me the rules for Omaha Holdem (high) are exactly the same as the rules for Texas Holdem, but with one important difference: To make the best 5 card poker hand, players must use exactly two cards from their hand and three from the board. Best not to forget this and think you have, say, a flush because you have 3 hearts in your hand and two on the flop. Not fun to screw up this way, and it'll happen to you at least once while you're learning Omaha. Trust me...I know these things.

Another difference from Texas Holdem is that, in Omaha Holdem, players are dealt 4 hole cards at the onset. But we already knew that, didn't we?

Once the hands are dealt, the game procedes exactly as a game of Texas Holdem, with a flop/betting round, turn/betting round, river/betting round/showdown.

Omaha Holdem Strategy

For both Omaha High and Omaha Hi/Lo:

• In Omaha, play tight and exercise patience. The ability to wait for the good hands is what separates riches from rags. If you've played a lot of Texas Holdem, you may be swayed to play some great Texas starting hands that are actually pretty iffy for Omaha.
• Play hands that go together. In other words, hands with multiple possibilities. A 3 card straight that includes a pair, or two pairs are examples of this.
• Don't play hands that have a Danglers. Danglers being a card that just doesn't belong with the others. For example, in the hand KQT3, the 3 is a dangler. You might make an exception if the cards are suited.
• You really want to avoid "fishing" in Omaha Holdem - let the other players fish when you have a good hand. Otherwise fold. Patience will pay off.
• High pair with an overcard is a good flop in Hold'em but not in Omaha. In this game you need to flop two pair, a set, or better.

• Omaha Holdem Hi/Lo and Omaha High Starting Hands