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The Difference Between Holdem and Omaha
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The two most popular forms of poker in the world today are Hold'em and Omaha. Both are community card games where it is easy for 10 players to participate in every hand (previously games like 5-card draw and 7-card stud were popular but they cannot accommodate more than 7 players). In both games players share a board of 5 cards as well as having their own hole cards that only they can see.
The first significant difference between Hold'em and Omaha is that in Hold'em each player receives 2 hole cards but in Omaha players get 4 hole cards. The second difference is even more important. In Omaha players must use 2 of those 4 hole cards in their final hand. In Hold'em players can choose to use one, both, or neither of their hole cards.
For example: Let's say the board in a game of Hold'em ends up being Ts, Jc, Qh, Kd, Ac and there are four players left in the pot. The highest possible hand that any player could make is the A-high straight. Every player still in the hand at this point would, therefore, have an identical hand because they would all simply "play the board". That is to say they would all use the 5 cards on the board, since these cards combine to form the strongest possible hand. The pot would be split four ways between the four remaining players.
Now let's take the exact same board but say that the game in question is Omaha. The board is still Ts, Jc, Qh, Kd, Ac and there are four players left in the pot. Now the hole cards that each player has become crucial because they must use two of those cards to make their final hand. If Player 1 holds a T,9,8,3 he can only make the following straight: 9,T,J,Q,K because he uses two of his own cards (9,T) and three community cards (J,Q,K). If Player 2 holds a J,T,8,3 he can make the highest possible straight of T,J,Q,K,A.
Here is a second example to illustrate the difference between Hold'em and Omaha:
Let's say the board is: A,A,A,A,9.
In Hold'em every player left in the hand holds four of a kind. The player with a K in his hand holds the nuts, that is to say the highest-possible hand of A,A,A,A,K.
But in Omaha no one left in the hand holds four of a kind because they must still use 2 of their hole cards. Therefore, the best possible hand in this scenario would be A,A,A,K,K for a full house. A pocket pair becomes very valuable with pocket Kings "the nuts".
We should also mention a third example because a lot of new Omaha players who are used to Hold'em make this mistake, and it can be both expensive and embarrassing.
Let's say the board is: Kh, Jh, Th, 3s, 2h.
In Hold'em the player who holds the Ah has the nut flush and the best possible hand, regardless of his other hole card.
In Omaha the player who only holds the Ah without any other hearts among his hole cards has nothing. He does not have the flush because he must use two hole cards, and both would need to be hearts to qualify for the flush. That is why having suited cards in Omaha, and having Ax suited in particular, is so important.
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