An Outline of the History of Omaha Hi-Lo Poker
This text has been prepared by The Eureka Kid, on behalf of TheOmahaSplit.com
History of Omaha Poker
Omaha Poker, despite the name was not invented in Omaha, Nebraska in the USA. It is a relatively new game that has only come into vogue in the last few decades. It was not even included in the contents of Doyle Brunson's 'Super System' book that was released in 1979. While it wasn't really played in casinos thirty years ago, it was still a popular home game variant in many households.
Las Vegas introduced Omaha into the mainstream poker world when it was introduced into casinos in 1982. Because of its ability to create action, it soon became a popular form of poker in both tournaments and cash games. As Texas Hold 'Em was coming into prominance during this period, Omaha crept in its footsteps. In the late 1990's and early 2000's as poker experienced it's boom period thanks to the advent of televised tournaments and online money play, Omaha grew further in popularity. As the number of poker players grew, so did the mass of players looking for an alternative or change up to the poker that was being played in the mainstream. Omaha is currently the most popular form of poker through Europe, an you can get a game of it any time of day playing on the internet.
High/Low Split Poker
High-Low poker is believed to have existed as early as 1903, but no written documentation has been found that pre-dates 1926. With Omaha Poker only coming to the fore in the 1980's, it's high/low offspring was only a little bit behind. Omaha Hi-Lo was added as a World Series of Poker bracelet event in 1990, and in the most recent WSOP had three bracelets awarded for Omaha High/Low.
World Series of Poker Champions
Year |
Player |
Winnings - USD |
1990 |
Monte Kous |
$113,400 |
1991 |
Joe Becker |
$119,400 |
1992 |
Eli Balas |
$122,400 |
1993 |
Ted Forrest |
$120,000 |
|
Erik Seidel |
$94,000 |
1994 |
T. J. Cloutier |
$135,000 |
|
J. C. Pearson |
$103,000 |
1995 |
Marlon Santos |
$119,000 |
|
Max Stern |
$140,400 |
1996 |
Adeeb Harb |
$155,815 |
|
Men Nguyen |
$110,000 |
1997 |
Scotty Nguyen |
$156,950 |
|
Deane Stonier |
$145,200 |
1998 |
Chau Giang |
$150,960 |
|
Paul Rowe |
$133,200 |
1999 |
Steve Badger |
$186,000 |
|
Mike Wattel |
$134,865 |
2000 |
Nat Koe |
$160,950 |
|
Michael Sohayegh |
$160,000 |
|
Howard Lederer |
$198,000 |
2001 |
Chris Ferguson |
$164,735 |
|
Bob Slezak |
$173,625 |
|
Scotty Nguyen |
$207,580 |
2002 |
Perry Friedman |
$176,860 |
|
Eddie Fishman |
$135,360 |
|
Mike Matusow |
$148,520 |
2003 |
Chris Ferguson |
$123,680 |
|
Layne Flack |
$119,260 |
|
Frankie O'Dell |
$133,760 |
2004 |
Curtis Bibb |
$160,000 |
|
Annie Duke |
$137,860 |
|
Brett Jungblut |
$187,720 |
2005 |
David Chiu |
$347,410 |
|
Todd Brunson |
$255,945 |
|
Pat Poels |
$270,100 |
2006 |
Scott Clements |
$301,175 |
|
Sam Farha |
$398,560 |
|
Jack Zwerner |
$341,426 |
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