Dr Whooo - A varriation on Omaha Poker

As it is only post #3 I though I should start with an easy game to understand, of course that is assuming you already understand Omaha poker. 

This is probably my most successful game from "the shed" and will be played several times on a dealers choice night.

Why Dr Whoo, Well I like to give all my games interesting name that also describes the game, part of the fun of inventing a game is also conceiving a name. This game should not be confused with the Jodie Whittaker character who has 2 hearts, but more of that later.

The "base Game" is Omaha. I.e. each player is dealt 4 cards with 5 more cards face up in the middle, Play 2 from your hand plus 3 from the middle.

However what makes this Dr WHOOO is all in the name. ie Wild Heart Only One Omaha.

Basic Rules

Deal 4 cards to each player face down

bet as normal Omaha

Best hand wins

HOWEVER, ONE of the cards you can use to make your winning hand (either from the 2 played out of 4 in you hand or the 3 used from the 5 on the table) can be wild if (and only if) they are a heart.

For example:

Player 1 hand
🂡 🂲 🂾 🂹

Player 2 hand

 ðŸ‚½ 🃘 🃅 🃂

 Table

 ðŸ‚¦ 🂨 🂫 🃔 🃕

 Player 1 wins:

 ðŸ‚¡ 🂲 🂦 🂨 🂫 gives a flush for player 1

or

 ðŸƒ” 🃕 🂦 🂽 🃘 gives you a straight for player 2

The key things to remember is:

  1. You can ONLY use one heart as a wild card 
  2. It can be in your hand OR on the table 
  3. You can use ANY one heart as a wild
  4. Different players can use different hearts as a wild (but again only one per player)

This game has created great debate over the years as to whether before the flop you prefer to have a heart in your hand or not, personally I think a bird in the hand (or heat in this case) is worth 2 in the bush (or what might appear on the table in this case)

When betting it should be noted that the winning hand will probably be much higher than a standard Omaha / Texas poker game. This tends to create larger pots and more play / players to the end (and loud cheers in the pub). For example 4 of a kind are a lot more common. And don't forget if there is a heart on the table the "board has paired".

Give it a try, but don't rush, you will be amazed how many extra options 1 wild card gives you.






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