Omaha, whose full name Omaha hold’em poker, has long been the most popular alternative to Texas hold’em. Omaha is a game that utilises the same format of hole cards, flop, turn and the river, but generates more of a gambling atmosphere by giving bad players the opportunity to play more hands without immediately getting skinned alive.

There are three traditional formats that are offered by most online sites: pot-limit Omaha and Omaha hi-lo (most popular among Europeans) and limit Omaha hi-lo (favoured by Americans). Of these, only pot-limit Omaha tends to breed a true gambling atmosphere as many hands are playable and usually will have some value at the flop and beyond, whereas hi-lo games are more likely to contain players who aim to win by waiting for good hands and trapping worse players in very bad spots.