If you’re someone who plays online poker quite a bit, it’s likely that you’ve come across Omaha poker but haven’t had a chance to dive into the game yet. We understand — the differences can be intimidating to players at almost every level who have settled in comfortably with Texas Hold Em. We promise that you’ll go in with the knowledge you need when you review these easy to understand rules for Omaha High Poker.

Omaha high uses the same rules as Texas Holdem with two notable exceptions: you receive FOUR hole cards instead of the two in Texas Holdem and you must use exactly two of them and three of the community cards to make the best possible five-card hand. How the game is structured is almost identical to standard Texas Hold Em: the small blind and big blind bets are placed and each player is dealt their hole cards.

Then, preflop betting occurs. This means that you’ll bet based on your four hole cards. This is where the main difference between Omaha and Texas Hold ‘Em really kicks in: you may have four Aces, but you can only play two of them, and the odds of a player holding the cards necessary to make a straight or flush have increased dramatically with the four cards having been issued.

After the preflop betting has finished, the dealer deals the first three community cards face-up in the middle of the table. Another round of betting occurs and, again, you are limited by your ability to only use two hole cards. The Turn is played, betting occurs again, then the River is played, finally. The player with the best hand (or the one who has outplayed the others through bluffing and tough play) wins the pot.

One thing that’s not uncommon to see when live Omaha poker games are played is a group of players hovered around the board, seeing if there’s another, better hand that can be made besides the one the winning player chose during the showdown. This is a testament to the difficulty many people have with Omaha and the challenge it offers its players. Once you’ve learned how to play Omaha High, it’s time to check out Omaha Hi/Lo, where the WORST hand can make you a winner.

It is important for a player of any game to have a command of strategy; whether it be a football team, golfer, or a casino game player.  So when you log onto to play an online casino, you should have two goals in mind; either to win some money, which requires strategy, or to practice new skills to improve your game.

Online casinos are great place to learn new skills and strategy.  Players from all over the world log on every day, so at anytime, you have access to thousands of players to observe and discuss strategy.   Online casino also offer free casino games, so rather than practice new strategies with money on the line, you can play risk free.  Of course, free casino games allow people to be more aggressive, so keep that in mind for the real money tables.

Now, if you already feel comfortable with your skills and strategies, then online casinos become a great place to make money.  Online gambling gives you access to tables of all different amounts of buy in’s; so you’ll always feel comfortable jumping in.  The same thing holds true for payouts.  If there is one thing that a good online casino isn’t lacking, it’s options.  But what you can really take advantage of to leverage your winnings, are casino bonuses.  Your online casino should offer bonuses for joining, being a loyal player, and different types of actions that very.  If not, maybe you should look around at other casinos.

Just remember, when it comes to playing an online casino, strategy really pays off.

Since it first came out years ago, internet backgammon has really come into a field of its own.  I remember playing backgammon online a decade ago; it had very simple graphics, no special features and it ran really slow unless you played the computer; these days internet backgammon has moved light years ahead.

When you play backgammon online you get amazing graphics.  They’re full of high definition color and you can play backgammon boards in what amounts to almost 3-D.  Plus, there are a ton of special features like chat, video chat, and unique real backgammon boards from around the world.  And you won’t have to worry about speed.  Internet backgammon sites use the best and most high-tech gaming software so the playing backgammon online runs more smoothly than playing it at your own home.

I used to struggle to get to the casino when I wanted to play.  That wasn’t easy for me since the nearest casino is a five hour drive.  It was basically something I could only do for a weekend every few months and it was a pricey trip with gas, food, and hotel.  Plus, playing at a casino can be not as fun if it’s too busy; it’s hard to find tables and sometimes the people are rude.  I find internet backgammon to be filled with great online players who are fun to play with, it’s cheap and easy to play since you play from your home and you never have to worry about finding a table.