Omaha Poker
Omaha Poker is an exciting poker game based on community cards, often referred to as a "Flop Game". Much like its cousin, Texas Hold’em, Omaha Poker is played in nearly the same manner, with a few distinct rule variations that add an extra element of skill and strategy the game of Omaha Poker.
The Mysterious History of Omaha Poker
No one is really sure where Omaha Poker came from, but we do know how it came to be played in casinos. Omaha Poker first appeared in the Las Vegas Gold Nugget Casino when executive Robert Turner brought it to the attention of the casino’s owner, Bill Boyd. Intrigued by the poker variant, Boyd termed it “Nugget Poker” and introduced it at his tables.
Omaha Poker Today
Now days, the game is known around the world as Omaha Poker, or Omaha Hold’em. It can be played in several variations, including its original format, Omaha High and Omaha Hi-Lo, also known as Omaha “8 or Better”.
Creating Your Omaha Poker Hand
The only differences between Omaha Poker and Texas Hold’em are the amount of Hole Cards each player receives, and the strict guidelines for hand development. Players are dealt four hole cards rather than two, but must use only 2 hole cards, combined with exactly 3 community cards, to develop the best possible 5-card poker hand.
Having nine total cards to work with (four hole cards + five community cards) may seem like a generous advantage, but the rules of hand development and wide range of possibilities for every player actually make it much more difficult to win Omaha Poker. For this reason, Omaha Poker is often referred to as a game of “the nuts”.
Omaha Poker - The Nuts
The “Nuts” is the best possible hand you can have, according to the community cards visible on the table. More often than not, the Nuts win an Omaha Poker hand. Therefore, it is important to be able to determine what the nuts are.
Omaha Poker Strategy
Omaha Poker in its Hi-Lo, or ‘8 or Better’ format, involves even more strategy as you are not just trying to achieve the highest possible hand, but also the lowest. The player holding the highest and lowest poker hands will split the pot.
The term ‘8 or Better’ refers to a ‘qualifying’ low hand, as you cannot win unless your hand has no card higher than an 8 and no pairs or better. Aces are counted lowest in low-hand development, and Straights and Flushes do not count. Therefore the lowest possible hand would be A-2-3-4-5, while the highest possible ‘qualifying’ low hand would be 4-5-6-7-8.
Finding the Nuts in Omaha Poker
To determine the nuts, simply look at the community cards and determine what two hole cards would be needed to make the best possible hand. Since the nuts are so important in Omaha Poker, let’s try an example and see what the “nuts” would be.
Community Cards: Ac-5d-8s-3d-Kd
From this, the highest possible hand – the Nuts – would be an Ace-High Flush in Diamonds, requiring an Ace of Diamond and any other Diamond in the hole.
The Low-Hand Nuts would be A-2-3-4-5, the best possible Low hand in the Hi-Lo version of Omaha Poker, requiring a 2 and 4 of any suit in the hole.
If the board pairs (for instance, had there been two 8s), the Nuts increase to a Four of a Kind, but the winning Omaha Poker hand will usually be a Full House.
