Omaha Is Not Texas Hold'em

The recent surge in the popularity of poker has had a rippling effect. While many new players are joining the game, many experienced players are trying their hand at new games. Some limit Hold’em players are branching out to play No Limit Hold’em and quite a few of them are trying the game of Omaha. Their downfall is that they think they can win at Omaha using Texas Hold’em Strategy.

Omaha may look like Hold’em because it is played with five community cards but that is where the similarities end. In Hold’em you can use any five card combination. In Omaha you Must use two card from your hand and three cards from the board.

Starting Hands
In Omaha you get four personal cards instead of two. Some players may think that this gives them double the starting hand combinations but in reality with four cards you have six possible two card combinations.

You have four cards ABCD The combinations are AB CD AC BD AD BC.

With all these starting combinations, Hold’em players think that this gives them reason more hands. You have to remember that each of the other players also has 6 two card starting combinations so in a ten handed game you have 6 combinations but your opponents have 54 amongst them. You actually need to be more selective.

Starting hands need to be coordinated. This means that the four cards should work together such as having a straight possibility that may wrap around the flop. Double suited hands that contain aces are good for the nut flush however three or four cards of the same suit is a garbage hand in most instances as you diminish your flush possibilities.

Big Pairs Rarely Win
One of the biggest mistakes I see is a player raising and re-raising with a big pair. While pocket Rockets may be a great hand in Hold’em it will rarely hold up in Omaha in a multiway pot. In Hi/lo every player with an ace and a small card will be playing which will further diminish that your pair of aces will be the winner. Omaha is a game of straights, Flushes and full houses.

Positional Raises Don’t Work.
In Hold’em you can sometimes raise from late position and win the pot when every one folds. In Omaha you will usually have more players staying in t o see the flop. This means that a positional raise will not work. With each player holding four cards many of them will find some reason to see the flop.

The Nuts Rule. In Hold’em it is rare that a player will have the absolute Nuts after the river but in Omaha it is a common occurrence. If you are not drawing to the Nuts after the flop you may find yourself second best or worse. In Hold’em 9 outs will give you a good shot at the winning hand. In Omaha you may need 16 or 20 outs to even stay in after the flop. In most instances you will have to showdown the best hand to win. Because of all the possibilities after the flop you don’t want to slow play a hand and give your opponent a chance to draw out on you.

More Bad Beats
Since more players are staying to see the flop the pots can be very large in Omaha. Players will be getting correct odds to justify staying in a hand. This means there will be more bad beats in Omaha. You have to have the Emotional fortitude to handle this if you want to play the game.

Learn the Game
If you want to be a winner you must learn to play Omaha correctly. You can’t be a winner if you use your Hold’em strategy for this game. Omaha is not Texas Hold’em.

Until next time, remember:
"Luck comes and goes...Knowledge Stays Forever!"