Omaha Hi rules for play
Omaha is a very similar game to Texas hold'em, with the same basic priciples. Betting rounds, blinds and betting structures all remain the same. Because of this, we recommend that you learn the basics on Texas hold'em before playing Omaha Hi. Please either check out our guide to Texas hold'em, or alternately visit Pacific Pokers poker school.
The two main differences between Texas hold'em and Omaha Hi are;
1) In Omaha Hi you are dealt 4 hole cards instead of 2
2) The hand rankings are calculated slightly differently in Omaha
Calculating hand rank in Omaha Hi
Whereas in Texas hold'em your hand is ranked based on the combination of your two hole cards and the 5 community cards (if dealt), in Omaha, you are limited to using only 2 of your hole cards and the community cards. This sounds complicated, but is actually very simple.
See the image below for an example;
In this example, many people would think that they have two pairs, Kings and Sevens, with an Ace kicker. This is not so. The hand here is actually a pair of Kings with Ace, Jack and Seven as kickers. This is because you cannot take 3 cards from your hole cards - only two. In this case you would take the 2 strongest cards, the King and one of the Sevens. Image below clearly shows what cards you would use in this situation.
Remember - you need 'monster' hands to win big at Omaha!
One of the most importent things to remeber when playing Omaha is that you will be playing a lot more hands than in Texas hold'em, and you need much stronger hands to win than usual. With 4 hole cards, there is a much larger chance of players hitting 3-of-a-kind and above in Omaha, so you should not be expecting to win big pots with two-pairs or below.
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Strategy Guides
- Staying in the game
- Check your position
- On the flop
- Turn and river
- Slow playing and trapping
- Large stack dominion
- Short stack aggressiveness
- Table image
- Choosing your table
- Choosing your style
- Projecting your image
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