Omaha is a poker game, similar to Texas Hold’em. The structure of the game is the same. There are Small Blinds and Big Blinds, the dealer’s button is to be moved clockwise. In the beginning, each player is dealt face-down pocket cards and the first betting round begins. The player with the “Under the Gun” position is to act first. “Under the Gun” is the position to the left of the Big blinder. Then the dealer deals three community cards face-up on the table called the Flop and the second betting round begins. This betting round begins with the Small blinder and the dealer acts last. The next

Where did the game come from and why it is named after the capital of Nebraska? In the early 70s of the 20th century in the western United States, especially in Chicago, Detroit, and New York, there was a very popular similar game, in which were used not four but five face-down cards. At that time this variant of poker was known under different names. In Detroit, for instance, the game was called “Twice three”. But this predecessor of the modern Omaha had one substantial defect. In connection with the usage of 5 hole cards, the number of players was limited to 8, but the players who want to p

There are two fundamentally different types of Omaha: Omaha High (Omaha Hi) and Omaha High / Low (Omaha Hi /Lo) which is also sometimes referred to as Omaha Split or Hi /Lo Split. In Omaha Hi at the showdown, the entire pot is taken by the player with the highest combination. This variant is more popular, it is called “standard” or “normal” Omaha.  The second, the more complicated variant is Omaha Split. In this game at the showdown, the pot is to be split into two parts which are to be taken by one or by two players. Half of the pot takes the player with the highest combination. The

Experience in Texas Hold’em partially may help after the Flop, but the most important aspect for a successful game in Omaha is the evaluation of the starting hand.Most players overestimate their pocket cards and make wrong decisions regarding entering the game or the amount of the wager. For instance, a hand like King of diamonds, King of hearts, 8 of spades, and 3 of clubs is quite a low no matter that there is a strong pair. A pair of Kings in your pocket cards in Texas Hold’em is considered an extremely strong hand, but in Omaha, any hand consisting of two useless cards is not valuable. If

Since in this game the pot is to split into two parts, the strategy should be base on the goal to win not the half, but the entire pot. Thus, the evaluation of the hands should be totally different. Aces are very valuable here since they can play both high and low. A good starting hand in Omaha should contain an ace and a card lower than 5, 2 is preferable.  An ace and 2 give the best low expectation. One of the best starting hands could be, for example, ace of diamonds, king of spades, 3 of spades, and 3 of diamonds. These cards give a chance for two strong flushes as well as a chance f

“Clean” high starters are absolutely real. These are the hands, unable to form a low combination, therefore, they are “one-sided" by definition. The way you need to play them depends on the position you have since in Omaha Hi /Lo the pot is to be split. From this point of view, all “clean” high starters can be divided into two types: those that contain Ace and those that do not. Very few of the high starters that do not contain Ace can be played aggressively. Exceptions, as a rule, are the strong non-ace starters such as 10, J, Q, K, particularly if they are two double suited. But this also c

Strictly speaking, the "clean" low-starters do not exist, since under certain conditions, low-starters can form a high combination - for example, "the wheel", so the use of such term is conditional. The most difficult problem for Omaha Hi-Lo is the dependence on the position of the way of playing the “clean” low starters on the pre–flop. Even more, many players consider it too ordinary and "solve" the problem in a very simple way – by raising with such a hand on pre-flop from any position, regardless of the actions of the opponents.This is a very common mistake made because: Most flops giv

Let’s see the most common example. You are in the late position and your hand is: A, 2, 7, 7 and except you, two more players enter the flop. The flop is as follows: 3, 8, and Q of different suits. The opponent from the early position places a bet, the opponent in the middle position calls. You also call, since you have chances to get nuts low on the turn or the river. The turn is 5 of the fourth suit. The aggressive player in the early position places a bet and the opponent in the middle position who called on the flop now raises. So, how can we interpret this raise? As we can see, the tu

What will happen if the opponent in the middle position hasn’t got a set of 5s but he has nuts low? What are the right actions in this case? Just imagine that you are with your hand in the same situation but in the middle position. How to answer the aggressive opponent in an early position who has placed a bet on the flop? First, you should not raise. Having nuts low and one more opponent, who called on the flop, you should only call. This is the right thing to do and it is very important since in Omaha Hi /Lo you pay a lot for your mistakes. Having nuts low in the middle position, you absolu