Omaha is similar to Texas Holdem in the sense that you play with cards against the board. In Omaha you hold four cards instead of two and there are five community cards. To make a hand, you need to play two holecards with three board cards. The betting strategies are the same as those used in Texas Holdem.

Generally, Omaha is subject to the same rules at Texas Holdem. The only rules that are different apply to the board. In Omaha, you have to use two cards from your hand and three cards from the board. The most common varieties of Omaha poker are high-low splits and 8-or-better.

Starting Hands In Omaha, starting hands are critical to winning. They exist before the flop and they bring a strong edge against the field when they are in place. An important rule for Omaha: avoid weak hands and do so from the beginning; from the start. Playing good starting hands and raising opponents before the flop are the basic winning tactics in loose-game, low to middle limit Omaha.

Omaha hands consist of three of the give community board cards plus two cards from each player’s hand. The ratio is always three of the board and two from your hand to make a winning combination. You can use the same or different card combinations to make high and low hands.

Understanding Omaha Values An important point about Omaha poker: you get a higher percentage of your final hand sooner, receiving four cards for your hand instead of two, as in Holdem. Seven ninths of your hand is known on the flop; when it comes to betting, you also know a lot more and thus can make more informed decisions. Compared to Holdem poker, Omaha has much less to do with random outcomes. It is a game won by interpreting information; Holdem depends upon interpreting uncertainty.

That said, what matters in Omaha poker as much as in any other variation: the probability of winning. In Omaha, the number of cards and the combinations of winning hands are what count. This version of poker is about accuracy, clarity, and, we’ll say it again, about information. You need to look at the various combinations of your hand: what is the best combination of three cards from the board and two from your hand? What is the weakest combination? You also need to look at what cards are not on the table or in your hand and use that information to assess what hands your opponents have. As you can see more cards in Omaha than you can in, say, Holdem or Stud poker, you’re chances of being right about the chances of winning with a particular hand are that much higher.

Why play Omaha poker? Omaha poker is one of the best forms of poker for making money. It’s mathematically simple in the sense that, if you only play good starting hands and you find opponents who play almost every hand, the odds are totally in your favor to win and you can win quite substantial amounts, even with a small bankroll, by simply applying basic principles of probability.

Another reason to play Omaha poker before Holdem is that bad players have very little chance of thriving at this version of poker. Luck plays such a relatively small part in winning and you can make very informed decisions about the game you play.

A few important concepts The River Game: You may hear players refer to Omaha as a river game, which is basically saying that the final card determines the winning hand. This theory emerged because it often seems that only two players per round have viable hands. Weighing this theory as a strong one, many Omaha players have been known to hold off betting until the last card comes down.

In reality, before the flop, you should play hands that have a high expectation; you should manipulate the pot size and you should try to manipulate your opponents. After the flop you should begin to roughly calculate the probabilities and deduce how favorable your chances are to win. Again, you should be working to manipulate the pot if you have a strong hand.

Pot Manipulation: To win at Omaha poker, you need to manipulate the pot to some extent. This means you should make a determination early on whether it’s worth betting snd you should act on your determination.

Cooperation: Greedy players don’t play Omaha poker very well. You should cooperate with your opponents to extract bids from weaker players. Greed will cost you money in Omaha poker.