Omaha poker is a community card poker similar to Texas Hold`em poker but with some differences. The game is played by 2-10 players, played in either pot-limit or limit betting structure and can also be played as a Hi-Lo split game but never played as a no-limit game.
The most sought-after Omaha poker version is the pot-limit, however, you can also find Limit-Omaha games which involve raising in small fixed additions. In Pot-Limit-Omaha, you can only raise to the pot size at a time. After this, the betting action can only go on if an opponent decides to re-raise the others and he will be limited to the pot size of the re-raise. It is therefore important for players to also know how to calculate the pot size raises. Other variations are the Courchevel, Binglao, five card and six card Omaha.
Omaha Poker Rules
The betting rounds and actions are similar to those of Texas Hold`em though with some differences to note. Players are dealt four hole-cards as opposed to 2 in Texas hold`em and the players have to use only two of the hole-cards for them to end up with a 5-card hand. Since Omaha is mostly played according to the pot-limit bet structure, it is impossible to go all-in except if the pot size is large enough.
Omaha poker is played with blinds and no ante. In case two or more players are in the game, the player on the left side of the dealer places a small blind, the player that follows places a big blind. The big bling equals the minimum bet while the small blind in most cases is half the amount of the minimum bet. When only two players are involved, the game is a heads-up. In the heads-up, the dealer lays a small blind while the non-dealer places the big blind. Omaha High is played with the pot-limit betting structure. Just like other poker variants, players start with a certain number of chips which are used to keep score and bet. Once you win the chips of your opponent then you will have achieved the purpose of the game.
Generally, Omaha Hold’em poker is broken down into street rounds with each hand consisting of four streets which include the river, turn, flop and preflop. Betting rounds take place on every street and you can either raise, call, check or bet in every round. If two or more players are left by the river in the hand, a showdown is reached. The showdown is where all the players reveal their hands and the leading hand takes the chips or the pot in the middle.
Omaha Poker Tips
Considering the most common version of Omaha is the pot-limit, it would be better if you got acquainted with the important strategies and tips to play the game well. First of all, you should always be patient when making a selection for the starting hand since not any combination of the four cards is usually worth playing. Only well-coordinated cards will give you a better starting hand.
It is good to avoid a lot of bluffing when playing Omaha pot-limit, instead, maintaining stronger hand is favourable in the game. A combination with a bottom set is also a drawback. If the opponent wishes to stack off, they will get a higher set most of the time hence your stacking off range has to be nuts or so close to it in any spot. However, there are situations when it would be best to fold rather than moving closer to the nuts. This is important since if you have nuts with no redraw, you will be on the losing play when stacking off with your opponent if they also have nuts but with their redraw being strong. Finally, you can count on wraps since they are strong hands in Omaha and straight draws with extra firepower, the wraps have more outs than a straight-draw in no limit Hold`em poker.
