The Basics of Omaha Hold'em
Like Texas
Hold 'Em, Omaha Hold 'Em is also a community card game because players
share cards. However, unlike Texas Hold 'Em, where players have two
hole cards and combine these with three community cards, in Omaha Hold
'Em players are dealt four cards and five community cards. Players then
try to form the best poker hand by using two of their four hole cards
combined with three of the five community cards.
There are many types of Omaha
Hold 'Em games, especially in North America. However, the most common
game both in casinos and online is Omaha Hi-Lo. In Europe, the game
Omaha usually involves the high version only.
Pot Limit Omaha
table at VC Poker
In Omaha Hi-Lo, players are required to make two separate hands -- the
high and the low. The high hand uses the eight card and higher while
the low hand uses cards from ace to five. For low hands, it's acceptable
to use cards valued over five as long as cards valued five and below
are also in play. For instance, a hand of 8-7-6-5-4 still qualifies
as a low hand.
To form these hands, players
are to use any two of his four hole cards and three of the five community
cards. The pot is split between the players who have won the high and
the low. If no player has a hand that qualifies for the low, the player
who wins the high hand wins the entire pot.
Aside from these differences,
the rest of Omaha Hi-Lo is similar to Texas Hold ‘Em. There are the
same number of betting rounds – pre-flop, flop, turn and river. The
way the community cards are laid out is the same. The showdown is also
the same.
Omaha Hold ’Em certainly provides
players with more options than Texas Hold ‘Em. They can toy around with
multiple types of hands before deciding on the best ones. For example,
players can hold both a full house and a flush by using different combinations
of his private cards and the community cards.
There are certain nuances that a player
must be aware of in Omaha Hi-Lo. For example:
1. If three of the community
cards belong to the same suit, a flush is possible if the player has
two cards of that suit. However, a flush is not possible if four of
the community cars belong to the same suit and the player only has
one card of that suit.
2. If there are two pairs in the community cards, you cannot have
a full house if you only have one matching card. You always have to
use two of your personal cards.
3. If there is a three of a kind in the community cards, a full house
is possible if you have a pair in your hole cards. If you don’t have
a pair, you cannot have a full house even if one of your hole cards
matches one of the community cards that does not belong to the three
of a kind. This doesn’t work because you will be using four community
cards instead of just three.
