In both variants of the game, five community cards are arranged on the table and the players have to make the best combination of 5 cards to win the pot. The main difference between Texas Hold'Em and Omaha poker is that each player receives four cards face down instead of two.

Another important rule that should not be forgotten when playing Omaha poker, is that you must always use two of the four cards that have been dealt face down at the beginning of each hand in combination with 3 of the 5 community cards on the table. So, unlike Texas Hold 'Em, you will not be able to make a flush using only one of the 2 cards that have been dealt face down. On the other hand, if you see four hearts on the table (another name for the 5 community cards) during an Omaha game, your opponents will still have to hold 2 hearts to make a flush (and not just one).

Omaha Poker

Also in Omaha, you will not be able to use all of the 4 cards that have been dealt face down in combination with 1 of the 5 community cards. You will always have to choose 2 cards from the 4 that you have in your hands and 3 cards that are open on the table and like in Texas Hold'Em the objective is to make the best possible combination of 5 cards.

Many people in the poker community refer to Omaha as Nuts Poker (or even LOLmaha), due to the crazy action that often requires "the nuts" (the best possible combination of 5 cards during any stage of the hand) to win hand. So if you play Omaha for the first time, do not be surprised if you make a colour or a trio on the flop and still end up losing your hand on the river.

This is if you are playing the most common form called Omaha High, but today there are many variants of the game. Some of these variants are Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as 8-or-better Omaha), Omaha Limit and Pot Limit Omaha (also known as PLO). In Omaha Hi-Lo, you can also win the pot with the lowest combination of 5 cards (this has to be 5 cards combination of '8 high' or lower). Due to the high demand for Omaha Poker, Online Casinos has started offering all variations of the game including the Omaha poker tournaments.