Comments on: Spreadin’ Omaha

By: heidi

heidi — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 09:00:23 +0000

Cowboy, quit living life would ya? We miss you.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 06:05:20 +0000

So where is this new picture you promised us?

By: Joelle

Joelle — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 14:28:22 +0000

I got to play Texas Hold ‘em for the first time last night. I had a lot of fun, and it’s good it’s not as hard as these others you mentioned. I won a couple hands, too, which was exciting (and improbable if the difficulty level was higher). I’m not sure I’d want to watch it on TV, though it would be fun to play again.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 22:59:02 +0000

*only “live” should be in italics there.*

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 22:58:03 +0000

Sad but true about Nebraska. It is a quaint little place in which to grow up, though. :D (As long as you don't have to live in Omaha, you should be alright.)

By: Steve B

Steve B — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 12:34:05 +0000

I prefer Euchure.

By: heidi

heidi — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 02:24:08 +0000

Cowboy, I like you. I really do. But all this poker stuff makes me sleepy.

By: Difster

Difster — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 00:06:47 +0000

As to why Texas Hold ‘Em is more popular than Omaha:

It’s all in the name. No one wants anything to do with Nebraska.

By: digitalcowboy

digitalcowboy — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 21:47:18 +0000

Andrea, I’m glad you gave me another chance, too. You’ve made my life brighter.

The tag line in my header used to be “Poker is life, life is poker.” I changed it because I ended up not doing as much on poker here as I had intended. I have a passion for the game, but discovered I don’t really enjoy writing about it so much.

By: digitalcowboy

digitalcowboy — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 21:33:07 +0000

JohnR, it’s because hold ‘em is complex enough to make people think, but still simple enough that they can play it and follow it on TV.

Omaha is majorly complex to follow. It’s a game where even seasoned professional players sometimes misread the board or their own hand. The difference (and the reason) is that in Omaha you’re dealt four down cards instead of two and you MUST use two of your four down cards, in combination with three on the board to make a hand. In hold ‘em, you’re dealt two down cards and you can use one, both or none in combination with the board.

You’re right that it’s just a variation of hold ‘em, but in practice, it’s very different. In addition, many Omaha games are played hi/low which adds another layer of complexity.