Poker is incredibly versatile. In poker you can play all your life and throughout your life find new solutions out of this or that game situation. Variations of poker games allow each player to find his most interesting and suitable for him game.

There are many types of poker: russian poker, poker with a joker, Oasis Poker, Three Card Poker, Five Card Draw, Six-card Poker, Seven Card Stud, a well-known Texas Hold’em, Omaha, five-card Omaha, Omaha Limit, Omaha Pot Limit, Omaha Hi Lo, Soko, Badugi, and this is not a complete list.

Let’s look at Omaha. Compared with other types of poker, Omaha appeared relatively recently. In the 70’s of the twentieth century, its popularity in the western United States received a game, which by its nature was very similar to today’s Omaha. In it five hole cards instead of four were used. Depending on the area changed its name, as well as the rules of the game. But due to the fact that 5 hole cards were used, and there were more and more people that wished to join, the game has undergone various changes and soon resembled more and more current version of the game Omaha poker.

To get proper attention and fame, both then and now, every game must go through the casino tables of Las Vegas. And so it happened to Omaha. In Las Vegas ‘Golden Nugget’, in which was played first game of Texas Hold’em (1967), in 1982 people began to play Omaha. And early in the 1983 was held first tournament, which involved a huge number of already experienced players. Since then, the game Omaha obtained recognition, many people began to play it in all casinos of Nevada.

Today there are more than five varieties of Omaha: five-card Omaha, Omaha Limit, Omaha Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi / Lo Split, Omaha Eight or better, etc. Omaha also called Omaha Hold’em, since the rules of the game are very similar to the rules of Texas Hold’em:

  • action of game develops at the same table;

  • dealer button moves clockwise from deal to deal;

  • there are a small blind and a big blind;

  • there are rounds of betting;

  • dealing of community cards is carried out in three stages (flop, turn and river);

  • the winner is determined at showdown basing on poker hands, which are in Omaha similar to other forms of poker.

However, there is one, the only difference between Omaha and Texas Hold’em – in Omaha each player is dealt four cards, as in Texas Hold’em is dealt two. At the same time in Omaha player makes his combination using exactly three community cards and exactly two of his. At first glance difference is insignificant, however, very important while drawing up a strategy of game.


By Andrew Holyk
I run a blog devoted to Pot Limit Omaha Poker