Different Forms of Omaha Poker

Omaha poker can be played in several different formats. The main types are known as Omaha High and Omaha Hi-Lo. The second distinction is between the betting structures used - Omaha poker using either fixed limit betting or the more popular pot limit. The final distinction concerns the number of players at a table, this form of poker can be played full-ring (9 or 10 players), short handed (up to 6 players) or even heads-up. This article will look at the different forms of Omaha poker and discuss the similarities and differences between them.

Omaha Hi

In Omaha High poker the pot at showdown is awarded to the player who makes the best poker hand using exactly 2 of their 4 hole cards and three cards from the board. Since starting hands have 4 cards the number of hand combinations possible is much higher than in most other forms of poker. The winning hands are correspondingly higher with full houses, nut flushes and high straights winning most pots. Players used to Holdem poker will find an unimproved over-pair such as a pair of aces a very expensive hand by the river!

Omaha Hi-Lo

Omaha Hi-Lo poker is a split pot game. At showdown the cash is divided between the highest poker hand and the lowest hand which comprises 5 different cards 8 or lower. If there is no qualifying low hand then the whole pot is taken by the player with the highest poker hand. While the rule of ‘2 from your hand and 3 from the board’ remains in Omaha Hi-Lo, the hands are determined independently of each other. This means that an ace (for example) could be part of both the high and low hands at the same time. In Omaha Hi-Lo premium hands are those with potential to ‘scoop’ both the high and the low sides of the pot at the same time. A perennial danger in this game is to be ‘quartered’ this means that 2 players share the low side of the pot (often both will hold A-2 or A-3) while the high side is taken by another player. In this case your return is 25c for every $1 put into the pot.

Pot Limit

The most common form of betting in Omaha Poker is ‘Pot-Limit’. In this betting structure players can bet up to the size of the current pot. This means that the rise in bet size is exponentially large between the pre-flop round and the river. If someone chooses to re-raise in pot limit betting they take the call of the previous raise into account. For example if the pot is $1 and an opponent bets the full size ($2) then your raise takes into account calling this bet first – so instead of $2 being a pot size raise it is in fact $3. Pot limit betting makes raising dangerous in many circumstances, since this enables a player yet to act to re-raise for the whole pot. At the same time it introduces subtlety to the game as getting all-in on an early betting round is more difficult.

Fixed Limit

In fixed limit Omaha Poker you’re most important decision is the first – whether to enter the pot. This is due to the large number of draws available on most flops, especially in the Hi-Lo version of the game. Once involved in a pot you may be justified in calling additional bets due to the large size of the pot in relation to the amount you have to call. This can be a very expensive way to find out that your hand (or draw) was second best right from the start. Since it is more difficult to get opponents to fold in the fixed limit version of Omaha techniques such as check-raising and isolation raises early in the hand become a more important aspect of the game.

Short Handed vs. Full Table Omaha

Short handed Omaha games involving up to six players require proportionally more post flop skill. At a full table it is safe to assume that ‘the nuts’ is out there, when there are several players in a pot and the betting gets heavy. In a short-handed game this is not necessarily the case. Since weaker hands are being shown down your judgment of opponent’s tendencies and post flop skills become proportionally more important. In heads-up Omaha games this is even more important, to be successful in this form of Omaha poker you will need to play your position and adapt quickly to the patterns of your opponent.