Generalities about the rules of Omaha Hold'em
The course of the Omaha poker game
Specificity of Omaha in terms of hand formation
The different variants of Omaha Hold'em
Hi/Lo Omaha
Hi Omaha
Omaha is one of the most popular poker variants in direct competition with Texas Hold'em. The rules of this game are simple but it has still certain characteristics as compared to other variants of poker. In general, there are two versions of Omaha poker: Hi/Lo Omaha, which is played especially in North America, and Hi Omaha, which is played especially in Europe.
Generalities about the poker rules of Omaha Hold'em
Omaha Hold'em resembles another very popular poker variation when it comes to the course of the game, Texas Hold’em. However, Omaha has some specific features when it comes to the formation of hands but also the gameplay.
The course of the Omaha poker game
An Omaha Hold'em game has four stages: pre-flop, flop, turn and river. In the pre-flop, each player receives four cards face down and then they have to decide how they bet in the first round of betting. Once all bets have been made, the dealer deals the flop which consists of three community cards visible to all players. A new round of betting then starts. Then a fourth card is revealed, the turn, and then a fifth one, the river. Now all the community cards have been dealt.
Specificity of Omaha in terms of hand formation
Remember that a player must use two cards out of the 4 distributed in the pre-flop and three cards from the community cards to form his hand. Also note that the Omaha poker games are generally Limit games, that is to say the raises are limited and pre-established early in the game, and more rarely but almost never Pot Limit or No Limit games.
The different variants of Omaha Hold'em
There are two Omaha poker variants. Hi/Lo Omaha is played more in North America while Hi Omaha, on the other hand, is played more in poker rooms and casinos in Europe and at the best poker sites online. The two versions of Omaha are very interesting and totally different from a strategic point of view even if the course of the parties remains the same.
Hi/Lo Omaha
High/Low Omaha is a rather original poker variation. Each party usually has two winners who split the pot - on the one hand, there is the player who forms the strongest hand and then there is the player with the weakest hand. However, sometimes a player manages to have both the highest hand and the lowest hand, in which case he gets the whole pot. It is this rule that makes this Omaha poker variation so interesting. Therefore, you can try to form the lowest hand instead of looking only to outperform your opponents.
Hi Omaha
The Omaha Hi variant is a classic variant with only one winner, namely the player who has the strongest hand. This is usually a Pot Limit game