Home Poker Games: California

Home Poker Games: California
by Chad Holloway of Predictem.com

California is a relatively new variation of poker played at my local home game. It is played much like Omaha Poker in that each player is dealt four hole cards (sometimes to spice things up we deal five) and they must use two of their hole cards along with three from the board to make the best five-card hand. The board consists of five cards just like Omaha; however, unlike Omaha the cards are flipped over one at a time and followed by a round of betting.

The catch to California is the third card that is revealed. Whatever that card is, the card that is one higher than it will take half the pot, as long as it is in a player's hole cards. For example, if the third up card is the 3s then whoever holds the 4s will take half the pot. If the up card is an ace then the split card recycles to the deuce of the same suit. If no one holds the split card or if the card appears on the board then there will be no split and only the high hand will win. Of course, if the high hand also happens to contain the split card then that player will win the whole pot.

Since you must be able to use two cards from your hole cards, the split card must be included if you wish to win the pot. Some people think that this counterfeits them because they aren't able to play the high hand and split card (assuming they involve different cards), but they forget that if they have the high hand there is no need to play the low, since they will win the entire pot with the high hand anyway. In the instance that there is a tie for the high hand, then that player would get half the pot regardless if he plays the high hand or the split card.

If there is a three-way tie for the high hand, the person with the split card would be better off playing it because that would give him half the pot and quarter his opponents (as opposed to chopping the pot three ways).

California is a game designed to build pots since most players want to stick around to see what the split card will be. If you hold the split card once it is determined, the question becomes how can you best build the pot? One popular technique is to either make small bets or check raise until the end and then push all-in. This puts tremendous pressure on the high hands and may force them out, allowing the player with only the split card to scoop the pot.

Although California is simply a variation of Omaha, it is an extremely fun and entertaining game that I highly recommend you incorporate into your home game lineup.

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