Omaha and Omaha 8

Omaha is a popular game played online today. In this game the players get 4 cards instead of 2, and players must use 2 cards from their hand. Omaha becomes a very different poker game from Texas Holdem due to the multitude of drawing possibilities. Omaha is played in a high only or in a hi/low format. In the hi/low version of the game the highest hand splits the pot with the lowest hand. Since there are 4 cards to make a hand in Omaha instead of the 2 in Holdem you may have to make draws to make a hand and you will still have the better odds to win the pot. Many professional poker players consider Omaha a better game than Texas Holdem since usually a player with the better hand wins the pot.
In high-low split games, the pot is split at the showdown between the best high hand and the best low hand that qualifies. To qualify, a hand must contain five cards ranked 8 or lower. Aces can be high or low—or both. In both Omaha and Seven Card Stud 8 you can use a different combination of cards in your play for high and for low. Since straights and flushes do not count against your low, a low straight or flush can win both the high and the low halves of the pot. In Omaha 8, if you do not have two cards 8 or lower among your four downcards, you cannot qualify for low. If three or more cards 8 or lower do not end up among the five community cards, no low is possible. In that case, the pot will not be split (unless two hands tie for high). If two or more players have the same low hand, they split the low half of the pot.

Texas Holdem
In Texas Holdem each player is dealt two cards face down. Betting opens based on the two “pocket cards” that each player holds. After the bets, the dealer lays out the flop which consists of several cards dealt face up in the middle of the table called community cards. The dealer first lays three cards into the flop, so your initial poker hand will consist of the three flop cards plus your two personal cards. There is a betting round; then another card is added to the flop. More betting, and finally a fifth card is added. The objective is for each player to make the best 5-card hand possible based on his two pocket cards and any three cards in the flop.

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