Omaha Holdem Omaha is a poker game derived from Texas Hold’em. Each player is dealt four cards ("hole cards"), which belong only to that player. Five community cards are dealt face-up on the "board". All players use three of the five community cards together with two of their hole cards to make the best five-card poker hand.
Omaha Poker Rules | *Highest hand wins
* Players MUST use TWO of their hole cards combined with three from the board to make their hands
*Ace plays both high and low for straights
*Three raise limit per round
*Cards Speak | Poker hands, from highest to lowest • Royal Straight Flush (an Ace high Straight Flush)
• Straight Flush (five consecutive* cards of the same suit)
• Four of a Kind
• Full House (three of a kind and one pair)
• Flush (five cards of the same suit)
• Straight (five consecutive* cards)
• Three of a kind
• Two Pairs
• One Pair
• High Card
* Aces count as 1 or 14 | Example: 
In this example, you have two pairs, Kings over Tens. Note that you cannot use all three Kings in your hand, since you must use exactly two hole cards (No more - No less). Betting Structures: Limit
In structured limit games, the only valid bet/raise is the current limit, for example $5 on the first two rounds in a $5-$10 Hold'em game. There may be a maximum of 4 bet/raises in a round of betting. This includes a bet, raise, re-raise and a cap.
No-Limit
In no-limit, a valid bet/raise must be at least the higher of the current limit and the last bet/raise. No higher limit is available, other than the players’ credits. No maximum number of raises exists.
Pot-Limit
In pot-limit, the valid bet/raise must be at least the higher of the current limit and the last bet/raise. A pot-limit bet/raise may be at highest the value of the pot, plus all bets at the table including the current player's call. No maximum number of raises exists. ome very interesting game play.
Omaha Poker Strategy: With more hole cards in play the chance of someone hitting a really massive hand obviously increases. And this fact must be taken into consideration.
A flush in Hold'em is a relatively strong hand as the chance of someone having a better one is slim. But in Omaha this is much more frequent. Having the “nuts” (best possible combination) thus becomes much more vital. Having semi-nuts (for example a king high flush) can many times turn out to be very, very costly. | Definitions:
HIGH CARDS - A, K, Q, J, 10
MIDDLE CARDS - 9, 8, 7, 6
LOW CARDS - 5, 4, 3, 2
SUITED PLAYER HAND (S) - Two of the players four cards of the same suit.
DOUBLE SUITED PLAYER HAND (DS) - Two of the players cards of one suit and two of another suit.
ACTIVE SIDECARD -Sidecard that when combined with another makes two parts of a straight or flush.
NUT HAND - An unbeatable high or low hand. Sometimes called a "lock".
SET - Three of a kind with two of the three in your hand. ( Four of a kind split two and two is a "Quad Set")
TRIPS - Three of a kind with all or two of the three on the board.
RAINBOW - Hand or flop etc. with cards of all different suits.
FLOP, TURN. RIVER - The community cards in the order of distribution. See top illustration.
FAST PLAY - Bet, raise and re-raise to get as many other players out as possible.
SLOW PLAY - Just check or call along to keep other players in the game to increase the pot odds.
CHECK-FOLD - Check when you can and fold if you are bet into. Gladly accept all free cards offered. The Best Starting Hand: | This hand contains 4 Premium (P)
+ 2 Strong Hands (S)
| | Premium Hands:
HIGH PAIR - AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010
ACE and HIGH CARD SUITED - AK(S), AQ(S), AJ(S), A10(S)
Strong Hands:
HIGH CARDS SUITED - KQ(S), KJ(S), K10(S), QJ(S), Q10(S), J10(S)
MIDDLE PAIRS - 99, 88, 77, 66
TWO HIGH CARDS - AK, AQ, AJ, A10, KQ, KJ, K10, QJ, Q10, J10
ACE and MIDDLE CARD SUITED - A9(S), A8(S), A7(S) A6(S)
MIDDLE SUITED CONNECTORS - 10 9(S), 98(S), 87(S), 76(S)
Minimum Hands:
LOW PAIRS - 55, 44, 33, 22
ACE and LOW CARD SUITED - A5(S), A4(S), A3(S), A2(S)
ANY TWO CARDS to a STRAIGHT - ie: 10 6, 98, 75, 73, A4 - Note: Most in this catagory are normally not playable in regular Holdem, but they do add value in combination Omaha hands. Throw-Away Starting Hands:
These hands should be automatically folded without any further consideration:
Quads - (including) A A A A
Trips - (except A A A with a high side card suited is sometimes playable) Playable Omaha Starting Hands:
PAIR of ACES - A A x x
PAIR of KINGS - K K x x
HIGH PAIR w ACE SUITED - Qh Qs Ah x .. Jh Js Ad 6d
HIGH PAIR w MIDDLE/LOW PAIR - J J 7 7 .. Q Q 4 4
HIGH PAIR w TWO or more OTHER HANDS - J J 9 7 .. K 10 10 8
ANY FOUR HIGH CARDS - K Q J 10 .. A K J 10 .. Q Q 10 10 .. A J J 10 .. (includes two high pair)
THREE HIGH CARDS w ACE SUITED - Ah Qs 10h x .. Ah Ks Jd 5h
THREE HIGH CARDS w ACTIVE SIDECARD - K Q J 8 .. Ah Qs 10d 4h
THREE CARD STRAIGHT with a PAIR - 7 6 5 5 .. 9 8 7 8
THREE CARD STRAIGHT with ACE SUITED - 8h 7s 6d Ah .. Ah 9s 8d 7h
CLOSE GROUP w TWO GAPS or less - J 10 7 6 .. 8 7 6 5 .. 9 8 5 4.. 9 7 6 4 .. J 10 8 6
 Strategy Tips:
*Stay aware of the nut hand possibilities. As the board develops, make sure that you always know what the three best hand possibilities are, and how that might change on the next card.
*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.
*Usually don't raise before the flop unless you are holding Aces or Kings and are in position to narrow the field. Another time to raise is when you are unraised on the button and have a strong hand. Try not to let the blinds play bad hands cheap.
*Fold your straight or straight draw if that's all you have and you don't flop an unpaired rainbow. If you do get the right kind of flop, bet/raise to discourage the back door flush draws.
*Don't over value low pairs. A pair of fours in your starting hand is only useful if it flops a set, but then a low set on the flop is not a very strong hand in Omaha.
*Study your opponents, especially when you are not playing hands and can pay careful attention. Do they find more hands to play than they fold? Do they bluff? Can they be bluffed? Do they have any "tells" (give away mannerisms) that disclose information about their hands etc.
*Get caught bluffing once in a while. It is a way to vary your play and not be too predictable. You win pots that you don't deserve when your bluff works. You lose a few chips when it doesn't work but it will get you calls from weaker hands down the line when you are really strong and need the action.
*Check the raisers chips. Players that are close to all-in often rush the betting just to get all their chips in a sink-or-swim last hand that doesn't merit a raise.
|
