Myths About Omaha Poker

Written by Nigel

Just like any other poker variant out there, there are some myths revolving around Omaha Poker.  If you do not know much about the game, you just might be a victim of one of these myths.

It is complicated
I heard this one about Texas Hold ‘Em too.  It is not true.  In fact, for Omaha Poker, you would find more simplicity.  This is because each hand in Omaha Poker has more ways to connect with a flop.  The idea that most of the time players around the table have nothing is not real.

Omaha starting hands run close together in value
Where does this myth stem from?  The fact that the dominating relationship of an AA over an A7 in Texas Hold ‘Em does not really have that much impact in Omaha.  As a result, people tend to think that starting hands do not really have much difference.  The fact, however, is that they do.  This is a good topic for another post – starting hands – and you will see just how different they can be.

Don’t raise before the flop
This is coming from the previous myth, really.  As one expertly put it “the most common way to create a profitable edge is to exploit the dramatically different pre-flop value of Omaha starting hands. Most Omaha games feature players who play too many garbage hands 789T, 23QJ and even J965. In many games, these mistakes occur before the flop all the time. This is where the money is to be made. Since the opportunities arise almost every hand, this is where you increase your profits hugely in Omaha.”

Omaha and Texas Hold ‘em: A Comparison

Written by Nigel

No matter how much we try to get away from Texas Hold ‘em, it seems that this variation of poker has left too strong of an impression on us.  Even those who want to start trying out other poker variations seem to get confused as to how the game really goes – Texas Hold ‘em is still in their heads.  There’s nothing wrong with that of course.  However, I thought it would be appropriate to compare these two variations a little bit more before we talk about Omaha Poker in more detail.

In the last post we talked about the number of cards you are dealt initially - 2 for Texas and 4 for Omaha.  This seemingly minor difference can actually spell huge disparity when it comes to game play.  Some may assume that knowing how to play Texas Hold ‘em automatically makes them great Omaha players.  While there is a certain truth to that – you know the basics already – it doesn’t really apply.

Just as you had to learn a set of skills when you were starting out with Texas Hold ‘em, you have to learn some new skills for Omaha.  For one, having 4 cards to choose from for your hand makes it all the more exciting.  With all the possibilities, you need to be more astute.  There is no shortage of action when it comes to Omaha (and other split pot games for that matter).  Make sure that you learn the skills in order to keep up with the action.

Play Omaha Poker

Written by Nigel

When someone says poker, more often than not it is Texas Hold Em Poker that he is referring to.  However, as most poker nuts know, there is more to the poker world than Texas Hold Em.  Of course, Hold Em is the most popular – and it has the right to be, I guess – but you would be missing out on other things if you don’t try other variations of poker.

Perhaps the next most popular type of poker would be Omaha Poker.  I could be wrong, of course, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a quick look at what Omaha Poker is all about.  Actually, it is not much different from Texas Hold Em.  The main idea of the whole game is to make the best five-card hand out of the cards you are dealt and the community cards.  Omaha is played using the standard deck of cards with 52 cards in all.  It can be played by 2 players or more, 10 being the maximum.  So far, it’s nothing different from Texas Hold Em, right?

The difference lies in the game play.  Instead of receiving only 2 cards on the first deal, you will get 4 cards in Omaha Poker.  You cannot use all the 4 cards though.  To form your best 5-card hand, you can use 2 of your 4 personal cards and 3 of the community cards.  The rest of the game is basically the same, with terms like the flop, turn, and river being utilized also.

Bar Poker League

Written by Nigel

Ever heard of the Bar Poker League? I am sure that if you have not, you are probably jumping off your chair in excitement right now, especially if you have been looking for a good group to play poker regularly with offline. To be honest, I didn’t really know much about this group until quite recently.

It does sound very intriguing and promising, doesn’t it? The Bar Poker League hosts Texas Hold ‘Em Tournaments in various bars and nightclubs. Who will not find that interesting? The thing is, their activities are mainly focused in the state of Minnesota. So if you are from out of state or worse, from another country, then you are plain out of luck.

For those who live within the area, what is in it for you? Here’s what they have to say: “Join the Bar Poker League and play seven nights a week. League members compete for $200 in nightly tournament prizes and qualify for district finals and casino-hosted state and regional championships through our poker point system. Members can win trips to Las Vegas, Tour Pro Poker Camp packages…”

Not bad. Although I am sure that there are other tournaments in many parts of the world, many poker players out there are wishing that they would have a similar set up in their area. I am going to try and look up more information on this league and share it with you if I find something.

Sharing Texas Hold ‘Em

Written by Nigel

The other night I went with some friends to their home town in the outskirts of the city.  Not really knowing anyone there, I was quite apprehensive that I would be bored or feel out of place.  Anyway, I went down there not expecting much.  It turned out to be an unfounded fear as the people were very friendly and accommodating.  More than that, they loved to play cards.

Unfortunately, the kind of card game they were playing was alien to me.  After a few hands, they asked me to join in so I took the chance and asked them if they have ever played Texas Hold ‘Em.  Believe it or not, they had never heard of it!  So I got pretty excited and asked them if they would like to learn.  It all began there…

We started off a bit awkwardly, with me having to explain every little thing to each of them (there were four of us initially).  After several hands, though, they got the concept well.  We did not really play for money but we used coins as chips.  As a testament to the “funness” of this game, after an hour or so, we had about 6 players at the table!  The funny thing is that I found myself losing quite more than I normally do.  Call it beginner’s luck or whatever but I had fun anyway.

Now I am not one to dwell much on things but that night reminded me of something.  Playing poker can be fun with out having to put real money at stake.

Iron Cross and H-Bomb

Written by Nigel

With names such as these, you could expect to have very interesting games, and indeed a game of Iron Cross or H-Bomb can give you a night full of fun.  The first variant derives its name from the shape of the community cards, which total 5.  The dealer first deals 4 cards to each player.  He then lays out the 5 community cards in 2 intersecting rows of 3 cards each.  Prior to the start of the game, the dealer decides whether the center card is to be considered wild.  The community cards are flipped one at a time, with a round of betting in between flips.  The norm is for the center card to be flipped last.  After the fifth and final round of betting, players decide which row to use to complete his hand.

For H-Bomb, the community cards form an H.  In this variant, the community cards total 7.  There are 2 rows of six with the seventh connecting the two.  All players are dealt 4 cards.  The dealer immediately flips a card on the H, followed by a betting round.  One card at a time is then flipped followed by a round of betting.  Again, it is up to the dealer to decide which card to flip.  Normally, the connecting card is the last to be flipped although the dealer may choose a different scenario.  When all the 7 cards have been flipped, there is one final round of betting.  The players form their hand by choosing any of the 5 rows possible in the community cards – 2 vertical, the horizontal, and 2 diagonal rows.

Cincinnati, Ohio, and Tennessee Poker

Written by Nigel

These place names may be quite familiar to other people because of the locations associated with them.  However, to anyone familiar with poker, these names would ring a bell relating to some of the most popular community poker variations.

Cincinnati poker is perhaps one of the original community poker variants.  The idea behind Cincinnati poker is for the dealer to deal out 5 cards to each player.  He then lays down another set of cards – the community cards – face down.  Each card will be flipped over in between betting rounds.  At the end, each player must form the best five card hand from both his hand and the community cards.  The community cards may be 4 or 5 in all, depending on the arrangements.

Ohio poker is basically the same as Cincinnati.  The big difference is that at the end, when all the community cards have been revealed, the card with the lowest numerical value will be declared a wild card.  This will include all cards with the same value that each player is holding.

As for Tennessee poker, it is also basically the same as Cincinnati poker.  The difference does not lie in the cards but in how the betting goes.  In this variation of community poker, betting is fixed.  That is, for example, the first round of betting only accepts one betting unit.  It is the dealer who determines what a unit would be.  The next round of betting can then accept 2 bet units and so on.

Next time, let’s look at some other popular versions of community poker.

Community Poker

Written by Nigel

One very common poker variation is community poker, which actually encompasses the very popular variation, Texas Hold ‘em.  The basic idea behind community poker is for each player at the table to be dealt with a certain number of face down cards.  These cards are then used in conjunction with the community cards, which are dealt face down in the middle of the table, to be used by all the players.

Variations of community poker usually depend on how the community cards are laid out in the center of the table.  The most common layouts for the community cards are the line, the cross, and the circle.  As you might have surmised by now, Texas Hold ‘em Poker falls unader the first variant – the line.  The cross, obviously, lays out the community cards in the form of the cross.  The circle, again obviously, has the community cards in a loop.  This last one is not as common as the first two forms.

Depending on the specific game, the community cards can be flipped over one at a time or all at the same time.  In some games, the decision depends on the dealer.  Some people say that the only difference between one community poker game and another is how the community cards are laid out.  As such, different community poker games are usually made more exciting by adding stipulations.  Again, these stipulations would depend on the players and the dealer.

In our next post, let’s take a look at some of the most common variants of community poker.