How to Play Poker: Omaha Poker – Basic Rules

Omaha Poker, with Texas Hold’em has shown itself to be the second most played poker form in the world. That is normal, as a game of Omaha his very strategic and skill oriented. As a result, players who know how to play Texas Hold’em will easily take to playing Omaha as the two games are very similar. So, we are going to see the rules of Omaha Poker and why it has become a favorite by thousands of players around the world.

The fundamental rules of Omaha are similar to those for Texas Hold’em. Omaha is not too different from Holdem, if you know how to play hold em your there. The key differences will be focused on in this guide, and JILI178 would like to explain what sets Omaha apart!

Number of Hole Cards in Omaha Poker

In Texas Holdem you were given 2 card and in omaha each player is dealt with 4 cards. Due to the fact that you have more hole cards, reading your opponents’ hands is much harder and likewise they also will find it hard to read yours. The cards make Omaha a more action-packed game than Holdem, having 4 hole card and potential of nine different two-card combinations.

Forming a Hand in Omaha Poker

In Texas Hold’em the two hole cards you are dealt can be used along with 5 community card to form it. Sometimes playing hole cards would be too costly if the strength of community card on table is under rated. But that scenario never happens in Omaha.

In Omaha, of the 9 cards (4 in hand and 5 on table) available to you with which to form your best five card poker hand must include exactly two cards from your hold dealt hole-cards and three community-card. This distinction is a lot of what causes all the confusion on Omaha but it makes for an interesting game. Let’s look at a few examples:

Example 1:

• Community cards:
• Player A’s hand:
• Player B’s hand:
• Player A’s best hand: A straight from 9 to King (using 9 and 10 from hand combined with J, Q, K from the table).
• Player B’s best hand: A pair of 2s with Ace, King, and 10 as kickers (using 2 and 10 from hand, combined with 2, A, and K from the table).

Example 2:

• Community cards:
• Player A’s hand:
• Player B’s hand:
• Player A’s best hand: Three Aces with J and 10 as kickers (using A and J from hand with the A, A, 10 from the table).
• Player B’s best hand: Full house (Aces full of 8s) using Ace and 8 from hand with A and 8 from the table.

Other Important Rules and Interesting Points

Omaha Can Be Played Pot Limit or No Limit

Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) Most of the Omaha games you can play are in this format. This is pot-limit betting, This means that the maximum bet cannot be larger than what’s in the pot. There are more combinations available when you have 4 hole cards, so we see significantly higher level hands like flushes and straights hit from normal. Pot Limit adds some nuance to the game, there simply arent all-in fests like in No Limit with Texas Hold’em.

Omaha Hi/Lo Variant

Often referred to as a classic Omaha variation, Omaha Hi/Lo is one of the most popular formats. So in this game, the pot will be divided between the best high hand and the best low hand. However, a low hand does have to qualify (typically has to be 8 or lower and all five cards in the low together cannot contain any pairs) This can be a bit more tricky as it forces the player to think about both of their high hand and low hand.

Conclusion

In general, Omaha Poker takes the excitement factor a notch or two higher compared to classical versions like Texas Hold ’em because of more combinations and betting possibilities. What distinguishes it from other forms of poker is that in Texas Hold’em you use exactly two hole cards to make the best five-card hand out of a total of seven cards available. This is the type of knowledge that distinguishes good Omaha players from great ones over time.