While Texas Hold’em is the current most popular iteration of poker, this wasn’t always the case. Before the World Series of Poker, Omaha Hold’em was the most popular version of the game. This was the game you could find in poker rooms on the Vegas strip. In fact, it was even the version of the game that was played at the very first WSOP. 

It was only after Texas Hold’em started to rise in popularity that it was pushed forwards as the main game to be played. Since then, Omaha Hold’em has almost faded into obscurity. It is a shame really as there is room for both games in the world, with each having their own features that help them stand apart from the other. While both games are hold’em games, they do have enough differences to make each one a different strategy when playing. 

What do they have in common?

As both poker games are hold’em games, it means that they actually have a lot in common. Obviously, Texas Hold’em is the more popular of the two, you wouldn’t find Omaha Hold’em at an NJ online casino for example, but there are still people out there that prefer to play Omaha if given the choice.

The main similarity between the two games is that both games involve players having hole cards and using community cards to create hands. This means that there are a lot of similarities between how the game is played and how it moves forwards. 

The betting rounds between the games are also extremely similar, but how they play out tends to be where the differences start in Omaha Hold’em. 

What are the differences?

The first main difference between Omaha and Texas Hold’em is the number of hole cards that players are given. In Texas Hold’em players are given two hole cards and in Omaha Hold’em players are given four hole cards. This means that Omaha allows poker players the opportunity to create more hands than with Texas. 

This has a knock-on effect in how the betting rounds will work. For example, you will see fewer players folding when playing Omaha Hold’em because it’s much easier to create a strong hand. This also means that it’s much less likely to win with a pair or three of a kind. Players have to be able to spot the ability to create better hands when playing Omaha Hold’em when compared to Texas Hold’em. It also means that bluffing is much harder because it’s more likely that other players have a strong hand than a weak one.

It also means that the potential pots in Omaha Hold’em are higher. Because players don’t fold as often, it means that calls and raises happen much more. This leads to the pot increasing much more. So, players are able to grab much higher wins when playing Omaha Hold’em. 

Omaha Hold’em is a much faster-paced game than Texas Hold’em so players can play more hands in a shorter span of time if they choose to play Omaha Hold’em.