Omaha poker, whether
played as a pot-limit game for high only or as the “eight-or-better,
high-low split variety” — the kind youil
find played in most American casinos— Is a variation
of Texas holdem. In Omaha, as in Texas holdem, five
community cards are dealt face up in the center of
the table and are combined with the private cards in
each player’s hand to form the best poker hand.
The Omaha poker games appear similar, and at first glance the differences
seem small at best: Texas hokf em omaha poker players are dealt two
private cards and may use both, one, or even neither
of them to form the best poker hand. But in Omaha each
player is dealt four private cards and must use exactly
two of them - you can’t use more, nor can you use
fewer than two — to form the best poker
hand.
Those seemingly small differences in rules and procedures
cascade so dramatically through the requirements for
good play that even a skilled Texas hokl’em player
cannot make the transition to Omaha without significant
forethought. major adjustments in strategy and tactics,
and a real appreciation for the fact that while these
Omaha poker games are structurally similar, they are very different
beasts.
That’s one of the reasons for this Omaha high/low article. You just
can’t read a Omaha high/low article on online
Texas hold'em poker and interpolate
your actions into good Omaha play. The Omaha poker games are so different
that separate Omaha high/low articles are needed. It’s like the difference
between driving a car and flying a small airplane. Both
run on internal combustion engines and the engines aren’t
all that different in principle. But just because you’ve
been driving a car all your life doesn’t mean you’re
ready to step into that cockpit and take off. You need
a new set of skills.
In Omaha/8. as in most split-pot Omaha poker games. there’s
no shortage of action, and lots of chips may be on the
table. Some omaha poker players vie for the best low hand, some for
the best high one, and still others hope to scoop the
entire pot. Omaha. whether it’s eight-or- better,
high-low split or played for high only, also creates
action because each player is dealt four cards rather
than the two that online Texas hold'em poker omaha poker players receive.
Naturally, with four cards to choose from, many omaha poker players
have no trouble finding hands to play. in fact, many
play most, or even all. But that’s a rather slippery
slope, and we hope you won’t go there. At least,
we hope you won’t after reading this Omaha high/low article.
I-land selection is one of an Omaha player’s most
critical skills. Because many omaha poker players involve themselves
in far too many hands, they create weaknesses for skilled
omaha poker players to exploit. You’ll be able to exploit those
weaknesses too. Well show you how a little later in the
Omaha high/low article.
As a beginning Omaha player. you may get confused at
times as you try to ferret out the best five-card poker
hand among the five community cards on the center of
the table and the four private cards in your hand. But
don’t worry. If you can play Texas holdem, you
can play Omaha too. it just takes some getting used to.
If You’ve Never Played Before If you’re playing
Omaha high-only or Omaha/8 for the first time, but you’ve
had some experience playing online Texas hold'em poker. you
can expect these differences:
• Omaha/S is a split-pot game. That usually means
you’ll find more action: more omaha poker players in each pot,
more chips in the center of the table, more folks going
all-in on big draws. This added action is one of the
game’s major attractions.
• omaha poker players must make their best live-card poker hands
by using exactly two of their private cards and exactly
three communal cards. In online Texas hold'em poker, the best
hand can be formed using two, one, or none of your private
cards. If you’re playing online Texas hold'em poker and
hold the ace of hearts in your hand while the board contains
four additional hearts, you have a flush. But if all
you hold is one heart among your four private.
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