I am learning omaha is not texas hold 'em....

I am starting to play omaha more often now,as it seems similiar to texas hold 'em.....or so i thought. i know how each plays,it's just i thought of omaha as form of texas hold 'em,but you get a few extra cards to chose your best hand from...the lesson i am learning the hard way is,when the flop comes out and i have a nice flush on it,that it can quickly turn to a full house for someone else,by the time river comes out....or that if i flop a 2 pair,most commonly ,that again,it can turn into a better hand by the river....so,i am learning the hard way,to watch more closely how the cards are played out,and not to get all excited if i flop a good hand,as it may turn into someone elses better hand....And biggest lesson is,do not go ALL in on flop! even if i flop a full house,as it has been turned into 4 of kind for someone else!...... i have a lot of 'ouches' now,and more respect for the game 4 sure! best of luck to you all

I too have had similar experiences with Omaha. It is a game that I find requires more attention than other games to position and watching the board carefully. I very rarely will play less than a flush in Omaha.

Omaha is a very different game from hold'em. It is much more complex and there are many times when even a full house should be mucked with out even thinking about it. A good book to read if you want to learn the game is Pot-limit Omaha poker by Jeff Hwang. It is very helpful and it also has a limit Omaha hi/lo section and a pot-limit Omaha hi/lo section. Although I have not read hi/lo parts yet. The Omaha hi section is very informative and if you study and learn it. It will make you some money after some practice. You can pick it up on amazon for around $10.

1 starting omaha hand = 6 holdem hands
so if ur playing 6 max, there are 36 holdem hands in play while in 6 max nlhe, there are only 6, all this means is that hands are weaker in omaha than they are in holdem
a simple way to value ur hand, if ur a begginer, is to threat ur 2 pair in omaha like 1 pair in holdem, ur sets like 2 pair and so on

Just remember. Quad Aces is the best starting hand in Omaha!

It's really quite an easy game, once you get used to the idea that there are no drawing hands in Omaha. If you are on a draw, somebody else is prolly way ahead of you already.

All middle cards, (6-T) no matter how coordinated, go into the muck. Even two suited connectors. Not worth it. Small coordinated cards are acceptable in Hi/Lo. But, again, don't chase the low. That can be quite cruel and the payoff isn't really that good on a split pot.

Only play monster hands. Two suited monsters or highly coordinated high card sets are most desirable.

If there is a pair on the board, and you don't have the nut boat, quads or a St. Fl. in your hand.... Putem in the muck.

I love Omaha.....


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3 things to remember when playing omaha, the nuts on the flop will be the *hits by the river, and if you don't have the nuts, fold. The board pairs 15% of the time or more.

Wtf? Omaha centers around draws a *lot* and many times, with the right draw, you're a big favorite.

That couldn't be any worse advice IMO.

My first post was pure sarcasm (AAAA is one of the WORST starting hands in omaha)

However the quoted advice above is dead on correct. Most of the time it's draws that are the best hands to have and best type of hands are drawing hands. It's VERY unusual for a single pair to be any good by the river. Two pair rarely holds up even. I don't even like sets if there are straight/flush possibilities (which is quite often) although they are better than the paired hands.

With 4 cards, think how many different ways you can make a draw? The best omaha starting hand is actually AA23 double suited (assuming you are playing hi/lo here). Example: Ad Ac 2d 3c. Get 3 diamonds or 3 clubs and you make the nut flush. Get an ace and you have top set. AA23 gives you 3 of the cards for the wheel and the 3 lowest cards in the deck for the low draw.

BTW....if I don't improve on this at all I'm gone. AA as an over pair is virtually never good.

Omaha is all about the draws.

For one thing, I assume he meant Omaha and not Hi/Lo, or he would have said it

Now, all draws aren't bad in Omaha. Draws are a *must* in Omaha. It's just that you have to be drawing to the nuts, not to some 9-high flush.

phoney2, noticed you play at PS, if you havent already then try the 10 cent omaha 240 player SNGs there for practice/cheap fun games

Omaha, Omaha H/L 7 Stud, 7 Stud H/L, Triple draw and Razz are all drawing games, it's not what you have on the flop ( or 4th street ) it's what you can make by the river ( or 7th ). Like Scotty ( hey baby ) at the start of the Triple draw 2-7 lo ball WSOP event said when he found out it was limit,,,awww no limit all in blind baby. In the rebuy Omaha H/L no limit as many as 4 players a table were all in before the dealers had finished, one could not keep up with all the rebuys and had to go on break after 10 mins.

I am relieved you cleared that up. I was wondering what the heck you meant by that.

haha.. i guess the smiley face when I said that was too subtle.


On a serious note...i run into people playing omaha way more often than I should be that actually think what I said IS true.

OMaha is 10 times more difficult than holdem I think..... I to learned the game the hard way, Think I have lost among 500 dollars learning it, but the last 2 days I am profitting ( hopefully it will last that way) lol.

Bingo! I'd further add that not only should you be drawing to nuts, but you should have many outs post-flop - not 'runner runner'. For example, you have AKh, Q2c - flop brings Q3H 5s - you now have a flush AND a nuts low draw, even a possible str8 with a 4, or a weak trip Q draw with a good kicker.

Another considering would be how much it will cost to see another card. Can't remember the last time I saw ANY card for free though in Omaha. And once a possible low hits the board, the circus really begins. Early position is a nightmare without a made hand after the flop. It's not uncommon to see EVERY draw reraised to the max, pre- & post-flop.

One major concept I've learned the hard way is the many ways your hand can be counterfitted. When trips or 2 pair hit the boat, it's astounding the number of the mental errors people make. But that's a whole new subject.