Texas Hold’em vs Omaha Poker

Texas Hold'em vs Omaha Poker
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  • PG News December 23, 2010
  • 2 Minutes Read

Texas Hold’em and Omaha poker have quite a few similarities and a number of differences. Both of these games are played in casino’s and cardrooms all over the world and the nice thing is that once you’ve learned the basic poker rules of Texas Holdem you can easily transition to Omaha by familiarizing yourself with the rules of Omaha Poker. The question that comes up often is which is the better game to play? With the wide selection of online free poker rooms you can always find several Omaha cash games or tournaments at your preferred stakes, as opposed to the limited availibility of Omaha Poker in Casino’s in India.

Texas Hold’em vs Omaha

In Texas Hold’em, the player can choose any five cards from the total of seven cards available at showdown. But in Omaha poker, the case is different as the player can only make a five card poker hand using two cards from his four hole cards and three of the five community cards. Probably the most interesting difference between Omaha and Texas Holdem is the relative strength of hands pre-flop and on the flop. While a flopped set or a pair of aces in the hole gets you excited in Holdem, in Omaha it’s a money pit for beginning players as they won’t hold up or you can even be behind all the way (!!). Playing Omaha will definitely redefine your understanding of luck and variance – it’s advisable to keep at least 50 Buy-ins if you want to play Omaha seriously!

Starting Hands

In both the games, double suited cards in hands increase the possibilities of flush while single suited cards reduce the formation of winning hands. Players playing Texas Hold’em strategy game are found to raise and re-raise when they have big pairs in hands. This will create serious problems with Omaha as you will be outflopped if 2-3 other players see the flop, which is not unthinkable in Pot-Limit poker. Position is also far more important in Omaha then in Hold’em so make sure you call and raise intelligently. Three betting double suited (gaped) rundowns and flat calling QQxx or KKxx in position are totally acceptable plays.

Flopped a straight, time to fold?

As opposed to Hold’em, where any straight, flush or full house can win you a big pot, in Omaha it’s sometimes correct to fold a flopped monster hand like these. If you flopped the bottom straight out of position on a flop with a flushdraw and 2 opponents you better fold before investing half your stack, chances are your hand won’t hold up on the turn and river, or you could be beat or getting freerolled already.

Texas Holdem Tournaments and Omaha Cash Games

Probably the best way to combine these games is to play No-Limit Hold’em Tournaments and Omaha cash games. The players in Omaha are so much worse than at the Texas Holdem tables nowadays, but you’ll have be properly bankrolled to make money successfully from the Omaha games.

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