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Omaha Rules
As in Texas Hold'em, in Omaha, players share five face up cards. In Omaha, players start with four "down" cards. In Omaha, you MUST use two of your four "down" cards along with three "up" cards (community cards) on the board to form your hand. Upon the completion of betting, the best hand wins the pot. There are four betting rounds in Omaha.
Here is the procedure for Omaha :
- Prior to dealing the cards, two blinds (the Small Blind and the Big Blind) are placed in the pot by the two players to the immediate left of the dealer . A Small blind is typically half the minimum bid, and the Big blind is the minimum bid.
- Everyone is dealt four "down" cards. The player to the immediate left of the Big Blind starts the bidding by folding, calling, or raising. Play continues in a clockwise manner. This is the first betting round.
- Three cards are dealt face-up, which is known as the Flop. The second round of betting begins with the person on to the left of the dealer.
- Another card is dealt face-up, which is called the Turn, followed by another round of bidding. Also, the betting minimum doubles from this point on.
- The last card is dealt face-up as the River, followed by a final round of betting.
- Upon the completion of betting, the best hand(s) wins the pot.
Omaha Strategy
Your starting Play/Fold decision will involve a quick assessment of the hand type and the six Hold'em hands in your four card Omaha hand. The playable starting hands suggested are a good place to start. These are not hard and fast rules about what to play, but a guide based on expert opinions and computerized hand value results.
Premium Hands :
HIGH PAIR - A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, 10-10
ACE & HIGH CARD SUITED - A-K, A-Q, A-J, A-10 of Hearts
Strong Hands :
HIGH CARDS SUITED - K-Q, K-J, K-10, Q-J, Q-10, J-10 of Hearts
MIDDLE PAIRS - 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, 6-6
TWO HIGH CARDS - A-K, A-Q, A-J, A-10, K-Q, K-J, K-10, Q-J, Q-10, J-10
ACE & MIDDLE CARD SUITED - A-9, A-8, A-7, A-6 of Hearts
MIDDLE SUITED SEQUENCIAL - 10-9, 9-8, 8-7, 7-6 of Hearts
Minimum Hands :
LOW PAIRS - 55, 44, 33, 22
ACE and LOW CARD SUITED - A5(S), A4(S), A3(S), A2(S)
ANY TWO CARDS to a STRAIGHT - ie: 10 6, 98, 75, 73, A4 - Note: Most in this catagory are normally not playable in regular Holdem, but they do add value in combination Omaha hands.
Throw-Away Starting Hands:
These hands should be automatically folded without any further consideration:
Four of a Kind
Three of a Kind, with the exception of A-A-A
Strategy Tips:
- Be careful of the rogue hand possbilities. As the board develops, make sure that you always know what the three best hand possibilities are, and how that might change on the next card.
- Try to break your thinking from that of Texas Hold'em if you have played a lot of it. When the flop hits, you want to be able to see two pair, a set towards a straight or flush, or better
- Don't raise before the flop unless you are holding Aces or Kings and are in position to narrow the field. Another good time to raise is when you have not been raised and are the dealer with a strong hand. Try not to let the blinds play bad hands cheap.
- Fold your straight if that's all you have and you don't have the flop drop an unpaired group. If you do get the right kind of flop, bet/raise to discourage the flush players.
- Don't over value low pairs. A pair in your starting hand is only useful if it turns into a set. However, a low set on the flop is not a very strong hand in Omaha.
- Study your opponents, especially when you have folded and can pay careful attention. Do they find more hands to play than they fold? Do they bluff? Can they be bluffed? Do they have any manners that give away information about their hands?
- Be unpredictable. Once in a while try bluffing your way through a situation. Sometimes you'll lose a few chips, sometimes you'll win a pot you shouldn't have grabbed. More importantly, it puts your opponents on edge, so that they can never be sure if you have a strong hand, or nothing at all, which will help you when you get strong..
- Check the raisers chips. Players that are close to all-in often rush the betting just to get all their chips in a sink-or-swim last hand that doesn't merit a raise.
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