I’ve read my fair share of poker websites, poker blogs and poker journals.  Ice-cold Poker is written by Sub-zero a poker pro from the United Kingdom.  I enjoyed the posts and the different perspective from somoene that shares the same passion for the game of poker, yet lives in a completely different country.

Most of the posts start with a quote from someoene famous – I like that approach it gets you thinking about life!  Which reminds me I must get a book of quotes so that I can use some from time to time.  Good one!!! Sub-zero keep it up, awesome poker journal, a bit chilly but I warmed to it after a while.  Really enjoy your posts describing your poker experiences.  Coming from a poker pro… they are very informative for the general poker public out there, trying to improve their game all the time.

Did you notice that Tom Dwan and Patrik Antonius chose to play Pot Limit Omaha Poker in the Durrrr Challenge?  Way to go guys!

I have been following some of the sessions on Full Tilt, but if you want a full update on the Durrrr Challenge, or if you miss some railbirding sessions, then go the site and catch up on all the news.

I think Omaha poker is the perfect version of poker for this kind of contest, it is very exciting and entertaining to play and to watch.  With four hole cards in your starting hand, your options open up… only problem is so do your opponents… Should make for some interesting games to watch between Tom Dwan and Patrik Antonius.

And, its good for Omaha to get all this publicity!

Start digging around and asking questions about the history of Omaha poker and where it comes from… it seems that most people don’t really know.

Apparently it has nothing to do with the place called Omaha.

The reason no-one really knows is because it is a relatively new form of poker.  Whilst other forms of poker have been around for a long time, Omaha poker was only introduced in Las Vegas in 1982.  People liked the format of the game and it became very popular, so much so, that it now competes with Texas Holdem.  A lot can happen in a game of Omaha poker, players like the action and spectators are kept entertained.

There were similar games to Omaha, but they were called different names.  Some say that it was a derivative of Texas Holdem because of the similarity, who knows?

An older version of Texas Holdem required you to use both of your cards in your hand, this game was known as “Omaha”.  So apparently, when the modern version of Omaha poker was introduced to casinos it took on the name “Omaha” because you had to use two of your cards in your hand…. once again who really knows???

Some will say who cares?  Omaha poker is a great game and I don’t need to know where it came from.

Happy New Year everyone, good luck and good cards for 2009!

My good friend Sam, pulled me aside at our New Year’s gathering, and wanted to know more about Omaha poker. He had started out playing Texas Holdem a year ago. Then, last month he decided that he needed a new challenge so he switched to Omaha. He was getting knocked down…

“Mike, I don’t get it, what is a good starting hand in Omaha?” he asked. “I used to make a bit of money playing Holdem, but I’m getting slaughtered at Omaha”.

Players that are converting to Omaha, often forget that the four hole cards have a huge affect on the odds. There are a lot more cards in play, so there are a lot more chances of making winning hands. The difference between a good hand and a weak hand is much smaller in Omaha compared with Texas Holdem poker.

So to answer Sam’s question – take a look at my website if you want to know a good starting hand. But don’t put too much emphasis on starting hands because a seemingly weak hand before the flop, can very quickly turn into a winning hand.

Starting out at Omaha is tough, you get knocked down often. But hang in there because once you get the hang of it there are rich rewards. Good Omaha players take advantage of weaker players after the flop.

Omaha is a game that appears very similar to Texas hold’em, but in fact is quite different. The additional two cards and the restriction that players can only use three board cards creates an entire new array of strategies relevant to Omaha. A beginner who assumes that Omaha and Texas hold’em are essentially the same game is headed for disaster.

Omaha is Not Hold’em: Bluffing

One mistake that players comparing hold’em to Omaha make regards bluffing. While bluffing in limit hold’em is difficult because of the fixed betting limits, bluffing in Omaha is that much harder. The reason for this is that with so many cards in play, someone usually has the nuts or close to it by the river. If you move all-in in a pot-limit Omaha game on the river and someone doesn’t have the nuts, you’ll probably win that pot. Unfortunately, unlike in hold’em, if you’re facing two or three opponents at the end, one of them probably does hold that boss hand.

Omaha is Not Hold’em: Position

While position is important in Omaha, trying to manipulate the table so that loose players are on your right and tight ones on your left, as you might do in hold’em, is more trouble than it’s worth. It will be easy to see from the flop whether it is worthwhile for you to continue with the hand, so knowing what your loose player will do, while important, is not nearly so important as it is in a game like no-limit hold’em.

Omaha is Not Hold’em: Results

If your Omaha results are not as good as your hold’em results, there has got to be a reason. Ask yourself what elements of strategy you are bringing over from your Texas hold’em games and if they really apply to Omaha. If they do not, you’ll want to lose those ideas and replace them with ones that are more Omaha specific.

There is one poker variation that beat all the others – it’s definitely the game where you find most action and good players have a huge edge against lesser opponents. This is a new blog about Omaha, my game of choice.

I hope this blog will be useful for new players that just have discovered this exciting game, but also that I can provide some new insights to more experienced Omaha players. The blog will cover both regular pot limit Omaha hi and Omaha hi/lo (which is mostly played as a limit game). In my opinion the best Omaha games are found online, so the focus will be on online play, but I will also write about live games.

Maybe you’re a holdem player that has stumbled on this site or an aspiring poker player that hopes to get started and learn the basics. And you might wonder: why should I choose Omaha? If you’ve already tried this fantastic game, you’re probably as hooked as I am. But I hope this blog will help the rest of you to see the light. As I said, Omaha is a real action game and if you learn it properly you will find that your edge against worse players is larger than in most other poker variations.

My aim is to provide insights about the game and encourage both new and experienced players. So let me help you discover the wonderful world of Omaha poker!