Book review: Farha on Omaha, By Sam Farha.

The great thing about Sam Farha is that he looks like a caricature poker player: the slicked back hair, the bling, the slightly mean appearance, the sharp suit, but man can this guy play Omaha. It’s one of his many redeeming features (he is, apparently, an especially nice guy) and he’s decided to reveal many (but not all) of the techniques that have made him such a feared opponent in print. Be thankful that he has for you won’t get much of this guy at the table.

As we have reported in SFTW on several occasions this year, Omaha is growing in popularity among proficient hold ‘em players and for those wishing to either try it for the first time or improve upon their existing play, Farha on Omaha is as good as anything you could read.

It helps that it is well written of course, but that is not a euphemism for ‘unnecessarily complicated’. The book is crammed with advice about what action is required in a host of situations and Farha is not averse to dropping in small prompts and hints to the text designed to give the wannabe Omaha player a considerable edge.

Unusually, Farha on Omaha is not laden with diagrams or mathematical formulae which will come a s a relief to some who consider Omaha tougher than A-level maths. It isn’t and Farha is at pains to explain basic pre- and post-flop strategies which will help any newcomer to this particularly enjoyable poker variation.

Not surprisingly, he suggests that within a few years, Omaha will become more popular than hold ‘em and for those who concur with this master of smooth play, reading this book should give you an opportunity to steal a march on your future opponents.

Tags: Omaha, poker, Sam Farha

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 11:17 am and is filed under News & Promotions Blog.