Frankie O'Dell: 'The Only Game I Enjoy Playing Is Omaha '

  There is an old joke about a nine hundred pound gorilla and what it is allowed to do. I can’t remember the exact wording of the story, but the punch line is “Anything it wants to do”. This punch line represents the sinking feeling most players get when sitting down to a game of Omaha and seeing the pride of Denver, Colorado, Frankie O’Dell at the table.  Being an Omaha juggernaut is not something that just happens. It takes dedication and training to get to his level. O’Dell studied his craft under the great Mike Matsuow. Mike is widely regarded as the Babe Ruth of Omaha players. In the case of his involvement with Frankie, he traded in his cards to play the role of Dr. Frankenstein.   Matsuow’s creation aggressively went through the Omaha ranks in 2003 with same destructive force that Godzilla went through Tokyo. He took the winning WPO Omaha/Hi/Lo Split and then took a detour from his game of choice and showed some versatility by winning the Legends of Poker No Limit Hold'em Event. He followed up this success by taking going wire to wire in the 2003 WSOP Omaha/Hi/Lo competition and taking the coveted gold bracelet.  In 2003 Frankie was also ranked number one by Card Player Magazine in the game of Omaha Hi-Lo. He is not shy about his success, and boisterous about his skill in Omaha. His achievements can probably be traced back to one statement he made, "the only game I enjoy playing is Omaha". It shows.  O’Dell plays with a confidence that at times annoys his fellow players. He has been described as loud and obnoxious by more then one competitor. These same people will also sit down and happily have a beer with him when the game is done. Frankie is one of the games true good guys. He is enjoyable to watch, confident in his ability, and plays an entertaining, if not loud, brand of poker. We will enjoy watching Frank in the years to come.Article of the Day Archive