Omaha Week: Part One - An Introduction

Pot Limit Omaha / Marcus Bateman / 24 May 2010 / Leave a Comment

Omaha is a game of nut hands – full houses, straights, and flushes tend to be the bread and butter hands of the game.

Omaha is fast becoming one of the most played variants of poker out there - even rivalling Hold'em now in terms of popularity. It is a game that although similar to Hold'em has some key differences, and understanding the marked differences between it and Hold'em is crucial if you are looking to make the transition between the games.

Firstly, instead of like in Hold'em - where you get two cards - in Omaha you receive four. However, unlike in Hold'em, you have to use two of the cards in your hand to make the final hand. As an example, in Hold'em if you have just the ace of clubs in your hand and there are four cards out on the board, you have the nut flush. In Omaha this would not be the case, as you would need at least two clubs in your hand in order to have a flush (as you have to table two of your hole cards at the end of the hand).

Secondly, Omaha is nearly always played as a pot limit game. That is, you can only bet up to the size of the pot at each betting interval. This removes certain plays that are frequent in no limit games - such as pre flop shoving or bets well over the size of the pot, and means that even as a short stack you will typically have to play flops.

Finally, Omaha is a game where average hand strength is much higher than it is in Hold'em. As each player has so many more possible combinations, the hands you need to be putting large best in tend to need to be much stronger than in Hold'em. Omaha is a game of nut hands - full houses, straights, and flushes tend to be the bread and butter hands of the game.

Omaha is one of the most action packed and wild variants of poker out there. It is also one of the most profitable, as hoards of weak players flock to the tables to see what the fuss is all about as more and more high stake games crop up, and learning it is essential to having a solid all around game.

Further Reading

Pot Limit Omaha Cash Articles
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament Articles
Pot Limit Omaha - A Beginner's Guide