Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Better hands are needed at Omaha than they are at Hold 'em, because each
player has four hole cards—meaning nine cards total from which to select the best
five—and therefore more options. Omaha is a split-pot game, meaning the high
hand and the low hand will split the pot. So each player has two different chances
to win each hand—high or low.
Just as in Texas Hold 'em, there are blinds and betting, a three-card flop, a turn
card, and a river. The difference is that you
must
use two (and only two) of your
four hole cards in making your five-card hand (though two different combina-
tions can be used for your high and your low hands). Because you can only use
two, there's no advantage to getting three- or even four-of-a-kind, or three or four
cards of the same suit in the hole. When making your low hand, you want to
avoid pairs (and anything higher than a pair) and the rules in many places hold
that your highest number must be 8 or less. Straights and flushes don't count
against the low. And for high hands, general poker rules apply. When it's time for
the showdown, the best high hand and the best low hand split the pot.
POKER OUTSIDE THE POKER ROOM
Poker played in poker rooms differs from the brand played against the house. The
latter is found in casinos at tables that look similar to blackjack tables and are
located among the table games, while the poker described above is isolated in
poker rooms located in a different part of the casino. When you play a table game
version, you're no longer playing against the other people at your table, you're
playing against the dealer (and, therefore, the house).
The house advantage is much higher in the following table-style poker games.
Caribbean Stud
If you know how to play 5-card-stud poker, Caribbean Stud will be easy to pick
up. This is a game where you play your hand against the dealer, not against the
players around you. Once everyone places a bet in the ante box (and you also have
the option of placing a $1 bet in the progressive box), the dealer deals five cards
face down to each player, and four face-down, and a fifth face-up. There's no
draw, so your hand won't change. Players are then given the option of folding or
calling, by making an additional bet that is double their original ante. The dealer
then shows his hand. He must have
at least an ace/king combination
or higher to
qualify, meaning the lowest qualifying hand is A-K-4-3-2, or the players win even
money on the ante and the call bet is returned. If the dealer qualifies and defeats
the player, the player loses the ante and the call bet. If the dealer qualifies and
loses, the payout scale ranges from even money for a pair, to 100 to 1 on a royal
flush, although there is usually a cap on the maximum payoff, which varies from
casino to casino. Progressive bets pay off when the player has at least a flush, and
you can win on this bet even if the dealer ends up with a better hand than you
do. Most veteran gamblers will tell you the progressive is a bad bet (the math
agrees with them), but Caribbean Stud already has a ridiculous house advantage,
so if you're going to play, you might as well toss in the buck and pray.
Let It Ride
Another version of 5-card-stud, Let it Ride involves three bets, and each bet must
be the same amount, and equal to at least the minimum posted (for example, if
