Omaha poker
March 23, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Omaha Hi poker, usually known simply as Omaha, is very similar to Texas Holdem. There are two main differences between the games:
- In Omaha, instead of receiving only two hole cards, each player receives four.
- In Omaha, players must use exactly two of their hole cards in combination with three community cards to make their five-card poker hand.
Structurally, Omaha is pretty much the same game as Holdem. Let’s take a look at the rules:
- A small dealer button identifies one player as the dealer. The dealer button moves clockwise around the table, and is passed at the end of every hand.
- All blinds, antes or other required bets must be put into the pot before any cards are dealt. In Omaha.
- The player directly to the left of the dealer posts the small blind.
- The player two spots to the left of the dealer posts the big blind.
- Generally, the small blind is half the size of the big blind.
- After the required bets have been placed, four hole cards are dealt face down to each player. A betting round begins, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind. This player is said to be ‘under the gun’.
- Once betting has completed in the first round, three community cards are dealt face up, for all players to use. A second betting round follows the deal, beginning with the player in the small blind. This betting round is known as the ‘flop’, or ‘Third Street’.
- Once betting has completed on the flop, one community card is dealt face up, for all players to use. A third betting round follows the deal, beginning again with the player in the small blind. This betting round is known as the ‘turn’, or ‘Fourth Street’.
- Once betting has completed on the turn, a final community card is dealt face up, for all players to use. A fourth and final betting round follows the deal, beginning once more with the player in the small blind. This betting round is known as the ‘river’, or ‘Fifth Street’.
- Once all betting is complete on the river, any players remaining in the hand must show down their cards. All players still involved must compare their five-card poker hands. The pot is handed over to the player with the highest ranked hand.
Omaha Hi-Lo (Omaha 8):
Omaha Hi-Lo, usually known as Omaha 8, is structurally the exact same game as Omaha Hi. There is, however, one fundamental difference:
- In Omaha 8, players can aim to make either the best high poker hand, or the best low poker hand. In the case that one player shows down a winning high hand, and the other shows down a winning low hand, the two players split the pot. In order to win the full pot at showdown, a player must have both the best high and low hand, or there must be no low hand in play.
Poker Positions and Why they Matter
March 23, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
In real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. In poker, there’s a similar adage that says it’s all about position, position, position. If you’[re not taking your position at the table into account when playing Texas Hold ‘em, you’re likely playing hands that you should have folded.
At a full table of 10 players, position is divided into four categories before the flop. There is early position, middle position, late position and the blinds. Players sitting in the three seats to the left of the blinds are said to be in early positions. The three seats to the left of the early positions are the middle positions. The two seats to the left of the middle positions are the late positions. The blinds, of course, refer to the small and big blind positions.
The number one rule when it comes to position is the later your position at the table, the more hands you can play pre-flop. This all has to do with information. When you’re playing poker, the more information you have, the better decision you are able to make. If you knew what cards everyone else at the table has, you would have so much information you would never lost a hand at the showdown.
When you’re trying to decide whether you should play your cards or fold, the earlier your position at the table the less information you have. because of this, you should only play premium cards from an early position. Think of it this way: you can call the big blind with anything in an early position, but there are at least seven more players to act behind you. Are your cards good enough to call if one of them raises? If they are not, you have basically given away some of your chips. In an early position, you are vulnerable to raises throughout the entire hand.
If you’re in a middle position, you have seen more players bet or fold, and there are fewer players to act behind you. This means you can play lower-valued hands because you have more information on how the hand is going.
In a late position, your list of playable hands has increased even more. At one of the late seats, only the blinds are left to play after you. You have seen almost the entire table play, and you should have a better sense as to who may have good cards. You will also be in a late position in every betting round that follows, which allows you to react to how your opponents play the hand the rest of the way.
Late position is also a strong seat at the table because it is generally believed to be the best seat from which to attempt a bluff or attempt to steal the blinds. With only the blinds left to act, you can more easily attempt to steal the blinds or attempt a bluff later in the hand because you’ve seen the rest of the table play their cards. Pulling off successful bluffs or blind steals requires information on the rest of the table, and you always have the most information from a late position. Bluffing or attempting to steal the blinds from an early position or a middle position can be dangerous because there are so many players left to act that can call your bluff or break up your attempt at a blind steal.
Types of Poker Players
March 23, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
What type of poker player are you? What type of poker player are your opponents? If you can’t answer those two questions, you’re missing a key component of your game. Poker players are generally classified by two attributes - tight or loose and aggressive or passive. These combine to create the four main player types:
- Tight-Aggressive
- Tight-Passive
- Loose-Aggressive
- Lose-Passive
Most successful poker players fall into the Tight-Aggressive category. That is not to say that all successful players are Tight-Aggressive, because that is definitely not true. A Tight-Aggressive player will usually only see a flop with a solid hand. That is what makes them tight. When they do latch onto a good hand, they will bet very aggressively. Because they are tight, they do not bluff very often, and when they do bet, they should be taken very seriously.
A Tight-Passive player is sometimes labeled as a scared player. These players tend to only play very good hands, and they will only raise when they have a strong hand. Since they are not risk takers, these players are better suited for limit games than no-limit games. If a Tight-Passive player makes or calls a raise, you’ll usually want to get out of their way unless you’re holding a big hand.
A Loose-Aggressive player is sometimes referred to as a maniac because they will play almost any hand and bet and raise even when they have nothing. These players are outrageous bluffers, which makes it difficult to gauge when they are actually holding a strong hand and when they are making a bluff with nothing. Playing against Loose-Aggressive layers can be extremely frustrating and it can take extreme patience to take all of their chips.
A Loose-Passive players is also referred to as a “calling station” in poker slang. These players will call almost any bet with any cards, but they seldom raise or fold after seeing the flop. These players are almost impossible to bluff because it is so difficult to get them to fold.
Now that you know the types of poker players, try to classify yourself and your poker buddies into those categories. The most successful poker players don’t fit into one category precisely, because they are able to mix up their play and fit into different categories during a cash game or tournament. The more you are able to successfully mix up your style of play, the harder it will be for your opponents to get a read on you.
