Omaha is a young game, relatively speaking, having only first been introduced in the early 1980s. The game was a relative rarity in poker rooms during those early years, although today has emerged as one of the most popular games played both online and in brick-and-mortar poker rooms.
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Historians have debated over the origins of poker, and while various theories have been proposed with regard to where the game actually started, most suggest that the game that eventually became poker likely started in China during the 9th or 10th centuries. The game played then actually used small blocks that resembled dominoes, though had some of the early features of modern day playing cards.
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Omaha poker was first introduced in Vegas cardrooms in the early 1980s.  It was 1983 when Omaha was first played at the World Series of Poker at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino.  The $1,000 buy-in limit Omaha event was won by noted poker author David Sklansky, who beat Perry Green heads up for the bracelet and the $25,500 cash prize for finishing first. Sklansky almost won back-to-back titles when he finished second in a $1,000 pot-limit Omaha event the following year to William Bennett.  That year (1984), the WSOP also included a $5,000 PLO tournament which was won by Dewey Tomko.

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Like Texas hold’em, Omaha is a “flop” game, meaning one combines one’s hole cards with the community cards — dealt as a flop (three cards), turn (one card), and river (one card) — in order to create the best possible five-card poker hand.  Unlike in hold’em, in Omaha players are dealt four hole cards instead of two.  Also, players have to use both hole cards to make their hands, as opposed to using just one or none (as is the case in hold’em).
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