Lucksacks How To : Omaha! Basics for Hold-em Players

Omaha!

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Omaha is a flop based game much like Texas Hold’em with what seems like a simple twist; you get 4 cards instead of two in the ‘hole’ (check my how to: holdem article here).

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The Catch

Here’s the catch: you MUST play 2 cards from your hand. This can be confusing to Hold’em players. This means there are no four flushes or one card straights. You also may not use three cards from your hole cards to make that ace high flush. (you know who you are!) In Omaha you use two cards … and exactly two cards ... from your hand plus three community cards to make the best five card poker hand possible.

What do you have in this picture? Three pairs? NO, FAM. YOU DON'T! You need to use those cards to make the best five and you have two more community cards left, remember? The Turn and the River. Once again, I’m assuming you have read my how to: holdem post! Right here you have a set of Aces. Which is good, so go ahead and bet/call/raise.

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Card Value

Card value can be vastly different in Omaha compared to Hold’em. Hold’em has 169 different starting hand combinations; Omaha has 16,432.. That Queen high flush you’re so in love with is probably no good. Trip Aces? You better fill up (make a boat, a full house) if you want to win. If you are not holding the ACTUAL best hand, you need to be drawing to it!

drawing to it’ means you are hoping for a specific card will come on the turn that will make the very best hand possible. Looking to scoop that massive pot? You’re going to need the stone cold nuts in Omaha.

Like this:

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To Bluff or Not To Bluff?

There is not nearly as much bluffing in Omaha as there is in Hold’em. Players generally have the nuts if they’re raising. Backdoor straights and flushes are not viewed the same way; you have to consider running cards as draws that hit. For instance, an open ended straight draw in Hold’em has 8 outs, while a wrapped straight draw in Omaha can have 20 outs. Omaha is very much a game of drawing hands. Where it’s the flop that is very important in Hold’em, Omaha is more likely to be decided by the turn and for sure by the river.

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I hope this helps! If you’d like to play some poker, be it Hold’em or Omaha, we have all kinds of poker games over at Lucksacks!.

Register on lucksacks.com and then visit our discord channel and let me - @bethalea - know you want to play! Here are the rules to be eligible:

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Good luck, catch you on the felt!