Introduction To Omaha

There's no doubt Texas Hold'em is the game of choice for those new to poker. It's what they've seen on television, the basics are easy to pick up and it's the game with the greatest choice of tables to sit down at.

Given the popularity of Hold'em the Big Slick has, over the last few issues, covered many of the key strategies players need to master to become long-term winners.

But, of course, Hold'em is not the only type of poker you can play at VC Poker. More and more players are easing themselves into seats at Omaha tables and discovering it's an action-packed game with far greater possibilities for better hands.

With Omaha's popularity continuing to grow the Big Slick has prepared a basic introduction to the game followed by a few important differences between it and Hold'em. We'll take a look at more advanced ideas and strategies in later articles and issues.

Why should I play Omaha?

Simple! There's more action and more excitement and that makes it a more compelling game. Once a player knows how to play Hold'em learning Omaha is also very easy. There's still a flop, a turn and a river, the same hand ratings apply and the betting structure is the same.

In addition an average Hold'em player can become a great Omaha player as the skills that can give a Hold'em player an edge are less important in Omaha. Given the same stakes, and the same skill, an Omaha player will make more money than a Hold'em player.

So what are the main differences between Omaha and Hold'em

1) The hole cards In Omaha each player gets dealt four cards. That means each player has six possible starting hands. Players must use two, and only two, of their hole cards in their final hand.

2) Hi and low hands can win Depending on the table they sit down at players can either aim for the highest hand, the lowest hand, or both! We'll cover the variations at a later date but as most Hold'em players find it easier to play straight Omaha and leave the High Low variation until they've got used to the game that's what we're concentrating on.

3) Winning hands As each player effectively has six starting hands, instead of one in Hold'em, it means it's easier to make better hands. Think about it this way. When playing Omaha on a Victor Chandler table with nine players there are effectively 54 starting hands out there instead of nine in Hold'em.

This means it's easier to make premium hands. Whereas top pair with a good kicker will often win in Hold'em in Omaha most players would have thrown the hand before they even got to a showdown. Omaha is a game of nuts – you'll need the nuts more often than not to win a pot.

With 54 starting hands out there the question to be asked is not “Is a player likely to have the nuts” but “How can anyone not have the nuts?”

3) Pots are bigger in Omaha As players have more starting hands it's more likely they will hit a good hand or draw on the flop and continue in the hand where they would fold in Hold'em. As more people stay in the hand the pot grows giving the correct pot odds to stay in with many drawing hands, thereby growing the pot further.

In Omaha players can justify seeing more flops, call more bets and raises on a draw, get more chips into the action and win bigger pots. Omaha is more of an action game – though remember it's always preferable to be drawing to the nuts.

4) Bluffing, tells and guessing hands Being proficient at these can help give a top Hold'em player an edge over an average one. But all three are less important in Omaha. Bluffing by opening the betting plays a smaller part in Omaha than Hold'em. Remember, there are more hands - the chances are someone has the nuts. And you can't bluff someone who has the nuts!

It's similar with guessing the hands of your opponents. As someone is likely to have the nuts, or very close to it, an Omaha player can look at the board and pretty much figure out what a persistent raiser is holding. And as it's more likely someone at the table is holding the nuts reading the tells of a bluffer is less important as there's less bluffing going on.

Of course, there's much more to Omaha than this basic introduction and we'll be looking at playing strategies in later issues of the Big Slick . But the most important lesson at this stage is the addition of two extra hole cards makes Omaha a true action game.

And if there's one thing poker players love it's action!