The Ultimate Guide to Omaha Poker

Omaha poker is another popular sibling of Texas Hold’em poker. Like Texas Hold ’em, it offers an exciting blend of strategy and chance, with starting hand selection the name of the game in Omaha.

In this go-to guide, we’ll start by delving into the Omaha poker history books before discussing its rules and gameplay, plus a host of tips and tricks to help you excel at the Omaha poker tables online or offline Down Under.

History of Omaha Poker

The origins of Omaha poker are a little murky. Murkier than the emergence of Texas Hold’em poker, that much is certain. There are several accounts of its origins, but the general consensus is that it was conceived in the early 1980s.

One of the most supported stories about Omaha’s infancy surrounds a poker player named Robert Turner. Turner won a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet playing seven-card stud. He introduced a friend, Bill Walter Boyd, to the game of Omaha in Las Vegas.

Boyd was the card room manager of the Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas. He was so intrigued by the concept of Omaha that he introduced it to the casino floor as “Nugget Hold’em,” and the rest is Omaha poker history.

What is Omaha Poker?

Omaha poker is another poker variant that uses community cards, but there are some subtle differences that affect both gameplay and strategy.

Omaha is typically played in one of two versions: Pot-Limit Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo. In Pot-Limit Omaha, the maximum bet any player can make during a hand is the current size of the pot. In Omaha Hi-Lo, players compete to win one of two pots. The first pot is ring-fenced for the player with the highest-ranked hand. The second pot is saved for the player with the lowest-ranked hand, creating additional strategic layers.

Omaha Vs Texas Hold’em

The biggest difference between Omaha poker and Texas Hold’em poker is the number of holes cards you have to work with. In Omaha, you’re dealt four hole cards, twice the number of hole cards you receive in a game of Texas Hold’em. But here’s the twist – in Omaha, you must use only two of your hole cards to complete your best five-card poker hand.

Double the number of hole cards in Omaha increases the number of different types of poker starting hands possible. Texas Hold’em has a maximum of 169 starting hands, compared with the 16,432 starting hands possible in Omaha.

How to Play Omaha Poker

Omaha poker gameplay involves multiple stages in a single hand. Each with its own set of actions and strategies to consider. Below, we’ll run you through the general flow of a hand of Omaha poker.

Stage 1: Pre-Flop

At the start of a hand, the two players to the immediate left of the dealer button are the small blind and big blind. The small blind equates to half a minimum bet, while the big blind equates to one minimum bet. The dealer then gives each player four hole cards face-down on the table. Players must then decide the potential strength of their cards and how to play their hand.

Stage 2: Flop

Once the pre-flop betting round is complete, the dealer deals the first three community cards in the middle of the table. Players can see what their best five-card poker hand could look like and base their strategy off this. Each player in the hand after the flop can bet, raise, call or fold based on their hand strength and the likelihood of improving their hands on the “turn” and “river”.

Stage 3: Turn

If multiple players remain in play after the betting round on the flop, the fourth community card is dealt. This is known as the “turn” card. All active players must reevaluate their hands to see if it’s worth betting again to try and claim the pot – or fold to an opponent who’s clearly got a stronger hand than their own.

Stage 4: River

It’s still possible that two or more players will remain in the hand until the fifth and final community card is dealt. This is known as the “river” card. It has been known to make (or break) the hands of many Omaha poker players.

At this stage, the remaining players have a crystal-clear picture of the board and the relative strength of their hands (using two-hole cards and three community cards).

Stage 5: Showdown

If multiple players still believe they have the strongest hand after the river card, the game proceeds to a showdown stage. All remaining players reveal their hole cards face-up to the table, with the dealer determining the strongest five-card Omaha poker hand.

In Pot-Limit Omaha, the winner is the player with the strongest hand. In Omaha Hi-Lo, players can with pots with the highest and lowest ranked hands.

Omaha Poker Rules

There are Omaha card game rules and guidelines that players must abide by, just like in other poker games. These differ somewhat from other variants like Texas Hold’em and Seven-Card Stud. Keep all five of these simple rules in mind when playing at the Omaha poker tables:

• Hole Cards
  Remember that every player receives four hole cards and two of them must be used in conjunction with three community cards to form your best five-card poker hand. 

• Be Clear on the Betting Structure
  Make sure you know whether you’re playing Pot-Limit or Hi-Lo Omaha poker. Pot-Limit is the most popular and restricts your bets to pot size. There’s no maximum bet in Hi-Lo Omaha, allowing you to go all-in if necessary. 

• Hand Rankings
  The Omaha poker hand rankings are the same as those used in Texas Hold’em. 

• Available Pots
  This is the second reason why it’s important to know whether you’re playing Pot-Limit or Hi-Lo Omaha. If it’s the former, you’ll play for a single pot. If it’s the latter, you’ll play for a high-ranking pot and a low-ranking pot. The low-ranking cards must consist of cards ranked no higher than eight.

The Omaha poker hand rankings mirror the standard poker hierarchy you may have already discovered in Texas Hold’em poker. Below, you’ll find a table showcasing the best hands to the worst hands:

Rank	Poker Hand	Description
1	Royal Flush	The highest possible hand – Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 of the same suit
2	Straight Flush	A numerical run of five cards of the same suit
3	Four of a Kind	Four cards of the same playing card rank
4	Full House	A five-card hand involving a Three of a Kind and One Pair
5	Flush	Five cards of the same suit – in no numerical order
6	Straight	Five cards in numerical order – not of the same suit
7	Three of a Kind	Three cards of the same playing card rank
8	Two Pair	Two pairs of matching cards of the same rank, i.e. 10-10 and 6-6
9	One Pair	Two matching cards of the same rank, i.e. A-A
10	High Card	None of the above – the highest-value card in your hand

 

Omaha Poker Strategies and Tips

As the dynamics of Omaha poker differ somewhat from Texas Hold’em, it can be quite a culture shock when shifting between the two game formats. Below, we’ll offer some Omaha poker tips to get you thinking like a seasoned Omaha shark:

• Become ultra-selective with your starting hands
  The last thing you should think is, “I’ve got double the hole cards; I can play almost any starting hand”. If anything, the more hole cards you have, the harder it is to connect with the community cards since there’s more in circulation at the table. Tight is right when it comes to starting hand selection. 
• Pocket aces are much weaker in Omaha
  A pair of aces in your hole cards may feel like the nuts in Hold’em, but it’s not the golden money ticket in Omaha. Unless aces improve on the flop, all you’re holding is a pair, and one pair rarely wins a hand of Omaha. 
• Rarely bluff your opponents in Omaha
  Bluffing is less of a concept in Omaha compared with Hold’em. In this case, it’s important to be more respectful of raises or re-raises as they’ll likely display hand strength rather than a test of your mental steel. 
• Don’t overvalue strong Hold’em hands
  If you’re a Hold’em poker player switching to Omaha, don’t place one and two pair hands on a pedestal like you used to. Even open-ended straight draws are less likely to catch in Omaha. 
• Table position remains key
  Positional play is just as important in Omaha as it is in Hold’em. Playing hands in late position gives you the best possible picture of your opponents’ hand strength. It also allows you to control the pot size and extract value from your strongest holdings. 
• Prudent bankroll management will help you cope with Omaha’s variance
  There’s no two ways about it: Omaha is a swingy poker game. Given the volume of cards in play, the variance is always likely to be greater here than at a Hold’em table. That’s why bankroll management is key to giving yourself the oxygen to absorb bad beats. You can then move forward without fear of blowing an entire bank in a single session.

Where to Play Omaha Poker Online

Now that you’ve digested the rules of Omaha poker and you’ve made a mental note of our online Omaha poker tips, you’re ready to fly the nest and sit down at some Omaha poker tables to play and have fun.

Many of the leading online poker rooms like PokerStars, 888poker and GGpoker prohibit Australians from playing for real-money poker games at their sites. That’s because of the legal framework surrounding poker Down Under. You may be allowed to sample their play-money versions of Omaha, though.

Some Aussie-friendly online casinos may also offer Omaha poker table games. In this case, it’s a good idea to get a feel for the top-rated online poker sites in Australia right now. 

You can trust Betsquare’s casino reviews as all our content is fair and fact-checked, giving you straight-up advice from a team that’s just as passionate about card games and casinos as you!

Final Thoughts

In short, Omaha poker is a captivating and strategic poker variant that demands that you think about the game at a different level from Texas Hold’em. With more hole cards in play, decision-making becomes all the more complex.

We hope this guide has inspired you to give Omaha poker a whirl online. If you’re looking to hone your poker strategy further, be it Hold’em or Seven- Card Stud or Pai Gow Poker, make sure you keep tabs on the Betsquare blog for more useful resources like this one.