We asked one of the top pros in the world of online poker, Chris “Fox” Wallace, to share with us some of the ins and outs of Omaha. Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Patrik Antonius are currently battling it out in Omaha, so let’s check out some of the quirks of the popular poker game.
DurrrrChallenge.com: How does Omaha compare to Texas Hold’em, which many of our readers are familiar with?
Wallace: Omaha high is a simple game in most cases. It’s easy to know where you’re at. The draws are so big that you can play aggressively. It’s an easy game because you have a lot of information. You know if your opponent has something most of the time. When you’re playing heads-up like Dwan and Antonius are, there is some bluffing involved. You can become pot-committed quicker because the draws are bigger and people play more aggressively.
DC: Is it a matter of playing looser in Omaha?
Wallace: If you play as tight in Omaha as you would in Hold’em, you’d get run over. If you fold 10 hands in a row and then push with aces, you’ll have an advantage in Hold’em. In Omaha, you won’t have much of an advantage when you get it all in because the hands run much closer together. In Omaha, no hand is that big of a favorite against another hand.
DC: What is typically the winning hand in Omaha?
Wallace: You can read the board to see what’s possible. If there’s a straight and a flush on the board, then oftentimes the flush wins. Flopping a straight is dreaded in Omaha because it doesn’t hold up most of the time. You can actually be behind based on draws.
DC: In Hold’em tournaments, a lot of the action is pre-flop. Is the action, then, mostly post-flop in Omaha?
Wallace: Post-flop play is important and knowing your opponent is important. The strategies that people focus on in Hold’em are less important in Omaha. Instead, knowing your opponent and their current state of mind is critical.
