Omaha 5 Cards Strategy
PokerStars has started spreading Six Card Omaha from $0.05/0.10 all the way up to $50/$100. It is now available to play online at PokerStars. The main difference between Hold'em and Omaha is that Omaha is played with four hole cards and, importantly, every player MUST use two of these when making a hand. For example, if there were four clubs on the board and a player had one club in their hand they would not have a flush in PLO (they would in Hold'em, however). Each player in a 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo game is dealt five private cards (‘hole cards’) that belong only to that player. Five community cards are dealt face-up on the ‘board’. All players use exactly two cards from their five hole cards in conjunction with exactly three cards from the.
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Here at PokerNews we've previously brought you five different poker games to add to your home game, but this time we're focusing on one particular game format.
With Six Card Omaha quickly becoming all the rage both live and online on PokerStars, there's never been a better time for you to think about adding it to your next home game.
Today we bring you eight reasons why you might think about adding the six-card variant the next time you bring out the chips and cards with friends and family round for a game.
1. Try Something New
Are you tired of Texas hold'em being the only game played every time you host or attend a home game? You're not the only one. Six Card Omaha is one of those games that not many people sitting around your normal home game will have played. That's enough of a reason for you to spread a new format at your next home game.
Even suggesting the idea of trying something new might see a couple of other people agree to leave the tired two-card format at the door for one evening.
2. Prepare for Online
Last week, PokerStars announced that its customers will now be able to play Six Card Omaha online. And with plenty of people looking to jump into this new format, by spreading this at your next home game, you'll be able to accrue some experience before playing online.
One key difference will be the sheer dexterity needed to hold six cards at once, but once you migrate to online you won't have that problem, and you will be able to focus solely on your game.
3. You Might Have an Edge
People often see Six Card Omaha as an action game of pure gambling, but even the most beginner of players can learn a few tips and tricks that will see them be able to hold their own against others.
And when playing against absolute beginners, you should be able to become a winner in Six Card Omaha even with the most basic of Omaha knowledge.
4. Work on your Omaha Game
Even if you're normally an Omaha player, Six Card Omaha will give you the opportunity to brush up on some of your Omaha spots in a completely different game format. While the skills might not be completely transferrable between the six- and four-card formats, you'll certainly be gaining more experience with the Omaha format as time goes on.
5. Deal with More Decisions
As we mentioned earlier, the most important part of Six Card Omaha is the flop. This is because pre-flop you are looking for hands that can easily make the absolute nuts, therefore the more co-ordinated your hand is pre-flop, the more potential you have.
However, once the flop comes you will be left with several decisions to be made and against loose-aggressive players, navigating these decisions might be the difference between winning and losing at your next home game.
WATCH: How Preflop Equity Should Be Seen in 6-Card Pot-Limit Omaha
6. Everyone Loves a Sweat
You'll never find a chapter in any poker strategy book covering the 'sweat' when playing poker, but even the most professional of poker players know that it is an integral part to any poker game.
And the sweats in Six Card Omaha are insane! Think of all the outs you might have if you were all in on the turn with one hand to come! Be sure to bolt the tables down because just imagine what could happen if that one outer happened to come?!
7. Improve your 'Out' Knowledge
Speaking of outs, it's important in any poker format to know how many 'outs' you have to win the hand. With the nuts being especially important in Six Card Omaha, be sure that you know the number of outs and the price you are getting on your call before committing money to the pot.
You can be sure that other players may not know their outs, or may have miscounted, especially if they are weaker or tighter players at your home game.
Take advantage of your poker knowledge by putting them to the test!
8. Loads More Action
If we've said it once, we've said it a million times. There's so much action in Six Card Omaha. There are other ways of inducing action in your home games, but there's no easier way than introducing Six Card Omaha next time you want to have a home game.
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First, we had Pot-Limit Omaha. Then we had Big O which increased the number of hole cards to five. Now say hello to Big O's even bigger brother - Six Card Pot Omaha which is now available to play online on PokerStars!
PokerStars has started spreading the game variant on its dot-com and dot-EU clients from the micro stakes $0.05/0.10 up to $50/$100.
This is the latest new variant that PokerStars have brought to their platform, after variants such as Split Hold'em, 6+ Hold'em and Unfold
If you're not familiar with Omaha, then why not learn how to play Omaha or read our Omaha poker strategy tips?
How To Play 5 Card Omaha
How Does Six Card Omaha Work?
The only real difference from 'normal' Omaha is the number of cards dealt to each person. The main rule that a player must use two cards from their hand, along with three from the board, remains the same. In Six Card Omaha this means you must use two of your six hole cards with exactly three of the community cards in order to make your hand.
What are the best Six Card Omaha starting hands?
In four-card Omaha, you have six possible two-card combinations to make your best poker hand. In Big O this increases to ten combinations. However, in Six Card Omaha, you have a potential 15 starting hand combinations across your starting six hands.
This means that you should be looking for more than just suited aces or kings in your starting hand. Make sure that you have as many flush and straight combinations as possible, but at the same time ensure that you can be drawing to the nuts as often as possible. Why, then just read one!
Playing the Flop in Six Card Omaha
You won't know truly how strong your starting hand is until the flop. This is because Six Card Omaha is a flop-driven game. You are looking for hands that can easily make the absolute nuts, therefore the more co-ordinated your hand is pre-flop, the more potential you have.
The more your cards work together to make straight, flush, and full house opportunities, the better. You must be able to evaluate these opportunities once you've reached the flop.
What is a Dangler in Six Card Omaha?
4 Card Omaha Strategy
In four-card Omaha, you will be looking for all four of your cards to work together and complement one another. Take for example. You have double-suited aces, with two flush draws to go with your aces. You also have and which could both make straights.
A 'dangler' is a hand that does not do this and is unrelated to the rest of your hole cards. You must be aware of these when you choose your starting hands, because often you will have to play a Six Card Omaha hand with a dangler. If you didn't, and only waited for the 'dream hand' then you would hardly enter any pots at all. Just be careful to avoid those hands that are completely uncoordinated.
Omaha 5 Cards Strategy Card Game
So what are you waiting for? Head over to PokerStars now to become the first to play Six Card Omaha
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