My favorite poker games: Pot Limit Omaha & No Limit Hold'em

Poker is a very popular game these days, at least hold'em is. Most people are completely unaware of all the other games that are out there. This is unfortunate because some of the best games are the ones that are rarely played. While no limit hold'em is the game that gets all the attention for most serious players pot limit Omaha is actually a much more popular game.

If you have any experience at all with poker you will know about no limit hold'em. That is the one that is always played in the casinos. In fact to many people it is the only game of poker that there is. In no limit hold'em you are dealt two cards and there are then five community cards dealt the winner is the player who makes the best five card hand. There is an initial round of betting after each player receives their two cards. Three of the community cards are then turned over and there is another round of betting. Then the last two community cards are turned over one at a time with a round of betting after each card is revealed. As the name implies there is no limit to the amount that you can bet.

While no limit hold'em is the most popular form of poker it is not widely played by the professionals except in tournaments. The main reason for this is that of all the games of poker it probably requires the least amount of skill. That isn't really good for the professional player who relies on his skills to make his living. Pot limit Omaha poker requires much more skill and it gives the better player the advantage. This makes it a much more appealing option for the pros.

The biggest difference between pot limit Omaha and no limit hold'em is that instead of being dealt two hole cards each player is dealt four hole cards. However you can only use two of them to form your hand. Like hold'em there will be five community cards dealt and you then can combine them with two of your hole cards to form the best possible five card hand. There is also a limit on how much you can bet when you are playing pot limit Omaha. Normally the maximum bet is based on the size of the blinds and under no circumstances can you bet more than the amount in the pot.

While the differences between the two games don't seem all that big they are in reality huge. This is something that most hold'em players underestimate when they are making the transition. A completely different strategy is needed. The big thing to keep in mind is that you will usually need a much better hand to win at pot limit Omaha than you would at hold'em.