There are a lot of variations on poker and the strategy shifts from game to game. The most commonly played games in the poker world are Texas Hold ’em and Omaha. Both of these games are structured the same in terms of being
In Texas Holdem and Omaha, players should be aware of their position. Omaha requires somewhat tighter play than Hold ’em. The concept behind this is that in Omaha, the focus of the game is to get the hand that has the nuts. This is also your objective in Texas Hold ’em; however, the hand that usually wins on average in Hold ’em is not the nuts.
In Hold ’em, you’ll see top pair, bottom set, two pair and even high card win the majority of the hands on average. In other words, the monster hands win only occasionally. In Omaha, the case is different. For example, the chance of winning with a pair of Aces in Omaha is very slim. However, in Hold ’em a pair of Aces wins constantly.
You have to know your starting hands and which hands should be played from what position. If you’re early to act, you may not play a certain hand that you would strongly consider or actually play if you’re late to act. This is where understanding the importance of position play and being able to calculate pot odds comes in handy.
In Omaha you generally want to be shooting for major draws with your starting hand. Keeping in mind that you can only use two of your hole cards, connecting cards are good. For example, if you’re holding 9,10,J,Q with two of them being suited gives you a lot of draws going into the flop. You have the flush and straight draw and a good selection of four cards to choose from when formulating your hand.
In Texas Hold ’em, being able to read your opponents and use your position to your advantage is essential. For example, a novice player will call the blinds with Q,J from any position. However, an experienced player would never call with Q,J from under the gun. These are differences that will be learned and implemented through time and experience. By learning the proper strategy and calculating the odds when your money is on the line, you have the best chance to succeed.
Poker is a general term that encompasses a multitude of games. Each game has variations in rules and basic strategies. However, many of the games have similarities as well. The variations are just deviations that have developed through time to create new and exciting poker environments.
