Omaha odds
When playing Omaha, your odds are significantly altered in comparison with Texas Hold’em because you have four cards (instead of two) in your starting hand. Naturally, more stronger handscan be seen in Omaha due to the additional cards being delt and that per sae alters the way you must play the game. As with any form of poker by calculaking the mathematical expectancy of different scenarios occurring in a game of Omaha poker would give you a valuable edge. Below, you can find some of the more commonly-considered probabilities, in both variations of the game: standard Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo.
Below are some basic numbers for some of the various scenarios in Omaha Hi/Lo, starting with the probability for each type of hand.
Omaha High Hand
| Hand | Combinations | Probabilities |
| Royal Flush | 42807600 | 0.000092 |
| Straight Flush | 368486160 | 0.000795 |
| Four of a kind | 2225270496 | 0.0048 |
| Full House | 29424798576 | 0.063475 |
| Flush | 31216782384 | 0.067341 |
| Straight | 52289648688 | 0.112799 |
| Three of a kind | 40712657408 | 0.087825 |
| Two pair | 170775844104 | 0.368398 |
| Pair | 122655542152 | 0.264593 |
| All others | 13851662832 | 0.029881 |
Omaha Low Hand
| Hand | Combinations | Probabilities |
| 5 High | 7439717760 | 0.016049 |
| 6 High | 25832342400 | 0.055726 |
| 7 High | 51687563904 | 0.111501 |
| 8 High | 76415359104 | 0.164843 |
| 9 High | 90496557312 | 0.195219 |
| 10 High | 87800751360 | 0.189404 |
| J High | 68526662400 | 0.147826 |
| Q High | 39834609408 | 0.085931 |
| K High | 13835276928 | 0.029845 |
| Pair or Higher | 1694659824 | 0.003656 |
In Omaha, cards are usually referred to as either low (8 or less) or high (9 or more). Consider the following scenario: You hold a hand such as A-2-3-4, and you want to know the likelihood of what you might see on the flop. Commit the following figures to your memory: There is a 6% chance of not seeing another low card on the flop, a 32% chance there will be one low card, a 46% chance there will be two low cards, and a 16% chance the flop will contain all low cards.
Omaha Pot Odds
The understanding of pot odds is crucial in the development of every poker player’s skills, particularly in the game of Omaha. When playing online, knowing the percentages is vital since, you have at your disposal none of the traditional methods of learning more about your opponent’s hand. Many new players develop a disadvantage by not remembering the above and prefer concentrating on other things, such as maintaining composure and deciphering their opponent’s intentions. They feel that applying pot odds is something to be left to the pros instead of applying it. However, you do not have to be a math expert in order to utilize pot odds. The attempt in the following section is to simplify the concept and hopefully you may begin using the advice to your advantage straight away.
You need to familiarise yourself with a few terms before any real learning can take place:
Outs – This is the number of cards remaining in the deck which will improve your hand. Your outs are the unseen cards that will complete or improve your hand to make it the winning hand. You should determine the number of outs in relation to your pot odds, to decide if it is worthwhile continuing with the hand.
Pot Odds – Pot odds are the relationship between the size of the pot and the money you must place on your next bet, in order to stay in the hand. For example, if there is $20 in the pot and your next call is $4, you pot odds are 5:1. Clearly then, the better the odds are, the more attractive it becomes to call the bet.
The following table illustrates the odds of drawing your needed card for each number of outs you have.
| Outs | Turn & River | Turn % | River % |
| 21 | 69.9% | 44.7% | 45.7% |
| 20 | 67.5% | 42.6% | 43.5% |
| 19 | 65.0% | 40.4% | 41.3% |
| 18 | 62.4% | 38.3% | 39.1% |
| 17 | 59.8% | 36.2% | 37.0% |
| 16 | 57.0% | 34.0% | 34.8% |
| 15 | 54.1% | 31.9% | 32.6% |
| 14 | 51.2% | 29.8% | 30.4% |
| 13 | 48.1% | 27.7% | 28.3% |
| 12 | 45.0% | 25.5% | 26.1% |
| 11 | 41.7% | 23.4% | 23.9% |
| 10 | 38.4% | 21.3% | 21.7% |
| 9 | 35.0% | 19.2% | 19.6% |
| 8 | 31.5% | 17.0% | 17.4% |
| 7 | 27.9% | 14.9% | 15.2% |
| 6 | 24.1% | 12.8% | 13.0% |
| 5 | 20.4% | 10.6% | 10.9% |
| 4 | 16.5% | 8.5% | 8.7% |
| 3 | 12.5% | 6.4% | 6.5% |
| 2 | 8.4% | 4.3% | 4.4% |
| 1 | 4.3% | 2.1% | 2.2% |
Omaha Starting Hands
It is possible to calculate with absolute certainty the probability that certain hands will be dealt at the start of each round. You may choose to think about it this way in order to grasp the idea: The first card you are dealt could be one of any of the 52 cards in the deck, the second could be one of any of the remaining 51 cards, and so on and so on. What this essentially means is that there are 270,725 possible starting hand combinations. Yes, that’s an awful lot indeed, but since many of these hands can have an identical playing value, and therefore no different from each other, we are left with 16,432 distinct starting hands. Luckily for you, these again can be reduced to a much more manageable 16 hands, which we will call shapes. Have a look at the example table below which will hopefully make this clearer:
| Rank | Example | # of Shapes | Distinct Hands | Odds |
| Four of a kind | 4♥ 4♣ 4♦ 4♠ | 1 | 13 | 20,824 : 1 |
| Three of a kind | 7♥ 7♣ 7♦ K♠ | 2 | 312 | 107 : 1 |
| Two Pair | 8♥ 8♣ Q♦ Q♠ | 3 | 234 | 95 : 1 |
| One Pair | 3♥ 7♣ A♦ A♠ | 5 | 5134 | 2.3 : 1 |
| No Pair | 8♥ K♣ Q♦ 4♠ | 5 | 10725 | 0.48 : 1 |
You may have heard people refer to Omaha as a game of “the nuts”, which just means that you usually need the strongest hand in order to win the pot. This is a bit different from no-limit Texas Hold’em, in which the psychological aspect of the game is much more apparent.
Pre-flop Probabilities
Here are some important probabilities for a nine-handed game of Omaha Hi-Lo:
Chance of being dealt A-2-X-X = 6.5%
Chance of being dealt A-2-3-X = 1%
Chance that another player has A-2 when you do = 36%
Chance that another player has A-2 when you have A-3 = 52%
Chance that another player has A-2, A-3, or A-4 when you have A-4 = 86%
Chance of another player having A-2 or A-3 when you have A-3 = 70%
Flop Probabilities
Here are some important probabilities for the flop in a nine-handed game of Omaha Hi-Lo:
Chance of flopping a low with A-2 = 7%
Chance of flopping a low draw with A-2 = 37%
Chance of seeing an ace and another low card when you have 2-3 = 13%
Chance of seeing a deuce and another low card when you have A-3 = 13%
Chance of flopping a two and a three when you have A-4 = 3.8%
