Introduction to Tahoe Poker Rules
Tahoe Poker rules are a mixture of Texas Holdem, Omaha, and Pineapple Poker. Like Pineapple Poker, players get dealt three hole cards in Tahoe Poker. However, like Omaha, and unlike Pineapple, no cards are discarded in Tahoe Poker. Hands play out like Texas Holdem and Omaha, but players may use, 0, 1, or 2 of their hole cards to form their five card poker hands. Players may not use all three of their hole cards, which is the only restriction on card use in Tahoe Poker. Tahoe Poker is commonly played with a Hi/Lo split.
How to Play Tahoe Poker
A hand of Tahoe Poker begins with each player receiving three hole cards from the dealer. A round of betting begins, and once complete, a card is burned from the deck and the flop, three community cards, is dealt. Players bet again, another card is burned, and the turn, the fourth community card, is dealt. Players bet for a third time. After this round of betting, yet another card is burned, and the river, the fifth and final community card, is dealt. The players reveal the five card hand that they have made using 0, 1, or 2 of their hole cards. If a Hi/Lo split is being played, and there is a qualifying low hand, the Tahoe Poker rules state that the low hand wins half of the pot, and the best hand wins the other half of the pot. The cards are cleared up, and another hand of Tahoe Poker is ready to begin.
Tahoe Poker Strategy
Some players think of Tahoe Poker as Omaha, but with one less card, which is not strictly true. Tahoe Poker strategy involves just as great a propensity as Omaha for making big hands. However, Tahoe Poker is also not restricted by the Omaha specifications of how many cards may be used. This makes Tahoe Poker strategy much more difficult, and the board much more dangerous, as players can make hands using only the board or one of their cards, not the two hole cards required by Omaha. It is therefore, actually even easier to make big hands in Tahoe Poker, because players have one more card than in Texas Holdem, and may use any amount of their hole cards, except they may not use all of them.