This offers insight to the game that is both very simular and yet very different from Texas Hold’em.

 Introduction

The basic mechanics of Omaha are the same as those of Texas Hold’em. The player is dealt his cards down, and then there is a flop, and turn and a river. If you are not familiar with the basics of Texas Hold’em, please review this section of our site first. The major difference between the two games is that in Omaha a player is dealt four cards and must use two cards from his hand and three cards from the board to make his best hand.

General Strategy

In limit Omaha, it usually takes a very good hand to win. This is why -

In Omaha players start with four cards. Each four card hand contains six Hold’em hands when the four cards are converted to all possible combinations of two. ie: ABCD = AB AC AD BC BD CD. All players must play two cards from their hands and three from the board. If you are in a pot with five other players after the flop, it is comparable to a Texas Holdem game against thirty other players. Each of your five competitors is holding six Hold’em hands instead of one. If you get down to the river with a very good hand, but one that can be beaten by some other two card combinations, brace yourself for a loss because they might be out there somewhere.. . . High end straights on the flop often run into serious problems when three suited cards or a pair hit the board. A flush or a full house could easally jump up to beat you. . . In Omaha, always play tight!

Just one or two good texas holdem hands are usually not a good starting hand in Omaha but many players can not resist the urge to play them. With four cards to choose from, these kinds of hands are easy get and Omaha games normally have more players and bigger pots than in Hold’em. The higher payoffs work to your advantage when you usually start with hands that contain four cards that all interact with each other to make about five or six decent Hold’em hands instead of only one or two. You will see a few exceptions to this here in the starting hands strategy.

Definitions

HIGH CARDS – A, K, Q, J, 10
MIDDLE CARDS – 9, 8, 7, 6
LOW CARDS – 5, 4, 3, 2
SUITED PLAYER HAND (S) – Two of the players four cards of the same suit.
DOUBLE SUITED PLAYER HAND (DS) – Two of the players cards of one suit and two of another suit.
ACTIVE SIDECARD -Sidecard that when combined with another makes a pair or part of a straight or flush.
NUT HAND – An unbeatable high or low hand. Sometimes called a “lock”.
SET – Three of a kind with two of the three in your hand. ( Four of a kind split two and two is a “Big Set”)
TRIPS – Three of a kind with all or two of the three on the board.
RAINBOW – Hand or flop etc. with cards of all different suits.
FLOP, TURN. RIVER – The community cards in the order of distribution. See top illustration.
FAST PLAY – Bet, raise and re-raise to get as many other players out as possible.
SLOW PLAY – Just check or call along to keep other players in the game to increase the pot odds.
CHECK-FOLD – Check when you can and fold if you are bet into. Gladly accept all free cards offered.

Two Card Omaha Hands

Premium Hands

HIGH PAIR – AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010
ACE and HIGH CARD SUITED – AK(S), AQ(S), AJ(S), A10(S)

Strong Hands

HIGH CARDS SUITED – KQ(S), KJ(S), K10(S), QJ(S), Q10(S), J10(S)
MIDDLE PAIRS – 99, 88, 77, 66
TWO HIGH CARDS – AK, AQ, AJ, A10, KQ, KJ, K10, QJ, Q10, J10
ACE and MIDDLE CARD SUITED – A9(S), A8(S), A7(S) A6(S)
MIDDLE SUITED CONNECTORS – 10 9(S), 98(S), 87(S), 76(S)

Minimum Hands

LOW PAIRS – 55, 44, 33, 22
ACE and LOW CARD SUITED – A5(S), A4(S), A3(S), A2(S)
ANY TWO CARDS to a STRAIGHT – ie: 10 6, 98, 75, 73, A4 – Note: Most in this catagory are normally not playable in regular Holdem, but they do add value in combination Omaha hands.

Your starting Play/Fold decisions will involve a quick assessment of the hand type and the six Hold’em hands in your four card Omaha hand. The playable starting hands suggested are a good place to start.

These are not hard and fast rules about what to play or not, but a generalization of expert opinions and computerized hand value results that you can use as a guide.

The Best Omaha Starting Hand

AK suited and AK suited – This hand contains 2 pairs and 2 AKs and 2 AK suited Hold’em hands for a combination of 6 strong hands!

Throw-Away Starting Hands

These hands should be automatically folded without any further consideration:
Quads – (including) A A A A
Trips – (including A A A with the side card suited)
Playable Starting Hands:
PAIR of ACES – A A x x
PAIR of KINGS – K K x x
HIGH PAIR w ACE SUITED – Qh Qs Ah x .. Jh Js Ad 6d
HIGH PAIR w MIDDLE/LOW PAIR – J J 7 7 .. Q Q 4 4
HIGH PAIR w TWO or more OTHER HANDS – J J 9 7 .. K 10 10 8
ANY FOUR HIGH CARDS – K Q J 10 .. A K J 10 .. Q Q 10 10 .. A J J 10 .. (includes two high pair)
THREE HIGH CARDS w ACE SUITED – Ah Qs 10h x .. Ah Ks Jd 5h
THREE HIGH CARDS w ACTIVE SIDECARD – K Q J 8 .. Ah Qs 10d 4h
THREE CARD STRAIGHT with a PAIR – 7 6 5 5 .. 9 8 7 8
THREE CARD STRAIGHT with ACE SUITED – 8h 7s 6d Ah .. Ah 9s 8d 7h
CLOSE GROUP w TWO GAPS or less – J 10 7 6 .. 8 7 6 5 .. 9 8 5 4.. 9 7 6 4 .. J 10 8 6

Strategy

Stay aware of the nut hand possibilities. As the board develops, make sure that you always know what the three best hand possibilities are, and how that might change on the next card.

High pair with an overcard is a good flop in Hold’em but not in Omaha. In this game you need to flop two pair, a set, or better.

Usually don’t raise before the flop unless you are holding Aces or Kings and are in position to narrow the field. Another time to raise is when you are unraised on the button and have a high cards hand. Try not to let the blinds play bad hands cheap.
Fold your straight or straight draw if that’s all you have and you don’t flop an unpaired rainbow. If you do get the right kind of flop, bet/raise to discourage the back door flush draws.

Don’t over value low pairs. A pair of fours in your starting hand is only useful if it flops a set, but then a low set on the flop is not a very strong hand in Omaha.

Study your opponents, especially when you are not playing hands and can pay careful attention. Do they find more hands to play than they fold? Do they bluff? Can they be bluffed? Do they have any “tells” (give away mannerisms) that disclose information about their hands etc.

Get caught bluffing once in a while. It is a way to vary your play and not be too predictable. You win pots that you don’t deserve when your bluff works. You lose a few chips when it doesn’t work but it will get you calls from weaker hands down the line when you are really strong and need the action.

Check the raisers chips. Players that are close to all-in often rush the betting just to get all their chips in a sink-or-swim last hand that doesn’t merit a raise.