Courchevel Poker
Five-Card Omaha poker has become wildly popular among poker players that love to gamble it up.
One popular variant of Five-Card Omaha is Courchevel.
Courchevel is Five-Card Omaha with an added element that guarantees you will see more monster hands than any other form of Omaha.
The courchevel is a little known and not very widespread poker variant. It is a variant of Omaha in which one receives 5 starting cards preflop instead of 4 as in the classic Omaha variant. The other difference with Omaha is also that the first card of the flop is free, i.e. It is visible to all players after the blinds.
Basic Rules
- Articles/Learn-How-to-Play-OmahaLearn to play winning Poker with strategy tips on Courcheval from Roy 'GodlikeRoy' BhasinFor more Omaha videos and some fun p.
- Courchevel Hi/Lo Poker. Courchevel Hi/Lo is an exciting game derived from Omaha Hi/Lo. Each player in a Courchevel Hi/Lo game is dealt five private cards (‘hole cards’) that belong only to that player. Five community cards are dealt face-up on the ‘board’.
Courchevel is very similar to standard Omaha poker with a couple of unique differences.
The first is that you get five cards, the same as if you were playing Big O. You still make your best hand the same way as Omaha poker by using two of your hole cards and three community cards.
The other main difference between Courchevel and regular Omaha is that after each player receives their hole cards, the first card of the flop is revealed.
Afterwards, the game proceeds the same as normal Omaha with the remainder of the flop dealt, followed by the turn and the river. At showdown, the player with the best five-card hand wins the pot.
Courchevel is typically played as Pot-Limit and you may find some No-Limit games online.
Playing for the Nuts is Key
With the first flop card exposed at the start of each hand, Courchevel quickly becomes a game of monster hands.
Anyone that plays Omaha poker is aware that you should be playing for the nuts the majority of the time. That is even more important in Courchevel.
For starting hands, you want hands that are well coordinated and with pairs.
When considering hands for flush possibilities, stick to those that will allow you to draw to the nuts. Otherwise, you're asking for trouble long term.
Stick with starting hands that give you the most possibilities to drawing the nuts.
Be Careful in High-Action Hands Pre-Flop
Obviously, a player that has a pocket pair that matches the door card is going to come in raising the majority of the time.
If you find yourself in a pre-flop situation with a lot of action, it's safe to assume that at least one player is holding a set of the door card showing and other players are calling along with strong hands like double suited aces, K-K-Q-J or some other well coordinated hand a player is willing to gamble with.
Evaluate the Nuts After Each Round
When the flop hits, evaluate the hand for which hand is the nuts at the time and what types of potential redraws are out there.
If you're sitting with a less than nut hand or drawing to less than the nuts, you need to find a reason to get out.
Conversely, if you're sitting with a monster draw to the nuts, or better still multiple nut draws, you will want to consider going to war with the hand.
Also: don't forget that even the nut flush or straight can be garbage once the board pairs.
Smart Gambling Will Win More Often
Those that play Omaha poker know that you will often be forced to gamble with big draws.
Courchevel is a game that rewards smart gambling more often due to the expanded number of combinations available each hand.
For example, you have Ah-As-10h-Js-8d on a board of 10s-Jh-Qs. There's high action so you assume there's either a set or someone has a straight.
What Is Courchevel Poker
With two pair, a nut flush and nut straight draw, you're going to go to war with this hand. This is a spot where smart gambling will pay off long term.
Added Door-Card Element Means You Will See More Monster Hands
Courchevel Pokerstars
Finally, remember that because of the exposed door after each deal, there will be many more monster hands in Courchevel than regular Omaha poker and even Big O.
Courchevel Poker Strategy
It's important that you focus on playing hands that give you the best chance to make the nuts. Otherwise you're going to find yourself on the wrong side of the rail much quicker than even standard Omaha games.