Omaha Poker is a variety of poker similar to Texas Hold Em. In Omaha Poker, players must create the best five card hand that they can to try and win the pot. The major difference from Texas Hold Em to Omaha Poker is that in Omaha, players are dealt four face down cards rather than two, and the player must use exactly two cards in their hand to make a five card hand. For example, on the following community board:
A player would require two card with diamonds to make a flush, for example :
Whereas in Texas Holdem a player would only need one card with diamonds to make a flush. Similarly, this applies to straights, full houses and so forth. This is a common mistake for new players starting out in the game.
Omaha community cards
Three community cards are dealt face up, but players are only allowed to use two of the four cards dealt to them to make up the best hand possible.
An Omaha game will usually consist of six to ten players. Omaha works similarly to Texas Hold Em, in the way that is uses small and big blinds, which are forced betting amounts. These ‘blinds’ are forced in a clockwise direction following the dealer button, which marks where the action is on the table. The two players on the left of the dealer must place a pre determined amount of chips in before receiving any cards. This is to help seed the pot, and encourages ‘action’ in the hand.
Once the big and small blinds have been posted, the game begins, and each player is dealt four face down cards. These cards cannot be seen by other players. The player on the left of the big blind starts the betting, and can call the big blind, raise it or fold their hands. Once the betting has gone round the table and come to an end, three community cards are dealt face up for the players to use. Players once again place bets, starting with the player on the left of the dealer. This player has to option to check, fold or raise.
Once all other players have either followed the raise or folded their hands, the next community card is dealt.
This is the fourth community card called the ‘turn’. Like the flop, the player on the left of the dealer starts the betting action, and must check, raise or fold their hand. The betting follows around the table clockwise, and once comes to an end the next card is dealt.
The River is the final card to be dealt, and is the fifth community card which all players may use. Like before, all players must check, call, raise of fold their hands ready for the showdown to follow.
As soon as betting has ceased, players will show their chosen two cards to decide which player takes the pot. Usually, the player to the left of the dealer will show their cards first if all players ‘check’ the river, but in many cases it is the ‘called’ player (following a bet and a call) that must show their cards first.
Playing Omaha
Because of the increased number of cards each player receives, the chances of making strong hands increases, which in turn can increase the level of ‘action’ and betting within any given hand. Because of this, Omaha is sometimes considered a game for players who like a more varied ‘action’ heavy game.
Furthermore, due to the increased numbers of cards dealt, the variance (also known as ‘swings’) found in the game can much higher due to the probability of one hand winning over another being much less. As a result, Omaha is certainly a game that requires a strong understanding of the probabilities as the ‘edge’ over another player is much less than that found in any of the other poker games listed on this site.
