Omaha is the second popular poker variant. It is the same as Texas Hold’em in terms of betting and hand rankings, with a small difference. In Omaha, every player is dealt FOUR hole cards. Everything else follows the same pattern as Hold’em.
Omaha is more fun and exciting because the players need to make the highest five card hand using just two of their four hole cards. Choosing the winning hole cards adds a fun twist to Omaha.
How to play Omaha
- Every player gets four hole cards.
- The player to the left of the dealer posts the small blind, and the player left of the small blind posts the big blind.
- The same betting patterns follow pre-flop, post-flop, post-turn and post-river. The actions are the same, calling, raising, checking or folding.
- The showdown is where things get interesting. The dealer needs to decide the highest five card hand from 2 hole cards and 3 board cards.-
Now, let’s see the variants of Omaha.
- Pot Limit Omaha – The limit of the pot is set. There is a big bet and small bet, and players cannot bet below or above these. The big blind is always equal to the small bet. A Pot Limit table can have INR 10/20 bets, with blinds of INR 5/10.
- No Limit Omaha – You can bet any amount, even all your chips, at any given time in the game. There is no upper limit for the amount of bet.
Omaha is an immensely exciting game to play. Even when you think you are making the winning hand, someone is almost always making a greater hand. It needs more thinking and strategy than Hold’em. And you can also win bigger in it.
