Community Card Poker: Omaha Hold 'Em
Omaha Hold 'Em is another community card variation of Texas Hold 'Em. Like its cousin, the general intent of the game is to make the best 5-card hand from two hole cards and three community cards (except in Omaha you get more overall cards to choose from). It’s usually played with four betting rounds.
Omaha Hold 'Em is known as just “Omaha”. And although technically Omaha Hold 'Em can refer to different variants it usually means Omaha High, which leads back to Omaha Hold 'Em, which leads back to “Omaha” (follow that?)
The easy way to remember all that is when referring to Texas Hold 'Em, just say, “Hold em” (unless drinks are being offered). And when referring to Omaha, just say “Omaha”.
The beginnings of Omaha aren’t known but we do know gambling legend Bill Boyd brought it Las Vegas under the name of “Nugget Hold 'Em.” Since Bill worked the card room at the Golden Nugget, it’s assumed he named it to honor the casino where he worked.
Omaha has a few differences from regular Texas Hold 'Em. In Omaha, you get four cards instead of two in the hole. The best hand has to be made from three of the five community cards, and two of the cards in the hole. This means if you have four aces in your hole, you can only use two of them. The saying goes: “Lose two and use two!”
A typical game of Omaha starts with two players to the left of the dealer paying the blinds. The first player pays one half of the minimum bet (small blind) and the second player pays the full bet amount (large blind). Afterwards, the dealer passes out four face-down cards. Betting starts and the dealer passes out three cards face up. This is known as the flop. Betting continues and another community card is dealt face up. This is known as the turn card. During the final deal, the last community face card (the river) is shown and players make their final bets. You use two of your four hole cards, and three of the five community cards, and make your best hand. Hopefully at this showdown stage, you show your winning hand and rack in those winnings for yourself (while ignoring the stares of the losing players.)
Remember the following thoughts when playing Omaha: The dealer bets last, so this is an excellent chance to observe the other players before committing to a hand. Players take turns with dealer duties to prevent one player from having the advantage throughout the game. Omaha is not Texas Hold 'Em – there are more cards to choose from, so higher hands are the norm. This means go for straights, flushes and full houses instead of high pairs.
Good luck out there!
