How To Play Omaha
Poker
Omaha Poker
is the second most popular poker variant, behind
Texas Holdem. This should come as no surprise as
both games are virtually the same, but with two
distinct variations in the rules. Instead of 2
Hole Cards, each player gets 4; and hand
development requires EXACTLY 2 Hole Cards and
EXACTLY 3 Community Cards when creating the best
possible 5-card poker hand.
Omaha is a poker
game for 2-10 players, using a single 52-card
deck.
Because of the
extreme restrictions in hand development, it is
highly recommended to play a few practice hands
of Omaha poker before putting any real money on
the table.
Object of Omaha
The object of Omaha poker is to develop the
strongest hand from the 9 cards available – 4
Hole Cards and 5 Community Cards. While this may
seem simple enough, the hard part is using
exactly 2 Hole Cards and exactly 3 Community
Cards to do so. The player who develops the
highest ranking 5-card hand in this manner wins
the entire pot.
Betting
Structure of Omaha
Omaha is played in all limits – Fixed Limit, No
Limit and Pot Limit – using Blind Bets; the
Small Blind and the Big Blind. Each limit and
betting options is defined below.
Fixed Limit: All
bets/raises are defined by the stakes of the
game. In Omaha, the first two betting rounds
require all bets/raises to equal the low-end
stakes, increasing to meet the high-end stakes
in the last two betting rounds. Fixed Limit
Omaha allows for up to 3 Raises max per betting
round.
No Limit: The
stakes in No Limit determine the Blind Bets and
lowest possible bet/raise amount. There is no
maximum bet. For instance, stakes of $2/$4 would
require a $2 Small Blind and $4 Big Blind, with
all bets/raises at a minimum of $4.
Pot Limit: Like No
Limit, the stakes determine the Blind Bet
amounts and lowest bet/raise amounts, but there
is a maximum limit that is always equal to the
current pot size. For example, if the pot has
$10 in it, the maximum bet is $10. If a player
bets the $10 max, the pot increases to $20,
raising the max bet/raise to $20.
Small Blind: A
forced wager placed by the player left of the
Dealer Button, before any cards are dealt, that
is equal to half the low-end stakes in Fixed
Limit Omaha, or equal to the low-end stakes in
No Limit or Pot Limit Omaha.
Big Blind: A
forced wager placed by the player left of the
Small Blind, before any cards are dealt, that is
equal to the low-end stakes in Fixed Limit
Omaha, or equal to the high-end stakes in No
Limit or Pot Limit Omaha.
Check: When a
player declines to bet, but remains active in
the current hand. This is only possible if no
player has already placed a Bet in the current
betting round.
Bet: To place the
first chips into the pot in the current betting
round.
Call: To place an
equal amount of chips into the pot as the
previous Bet.
Raise: To place
more chips into the pot than the previous Bet.
Fold: To throw
your cards in, forfeiting the current pot and
hand.
All-In: To push
all remaining chips into a separate side-pot.
The side-pot is necessary as the bettor cannot
win a higher amount from any other player than
his own All-In Bet.
General Game
Play of Omaha
Note: For the following example of how to play
Omaha poker, we’ll employ a Fixed Limit betting
structure with $2/$4 stakes.
The Omaha poker
hand begins with the placement of Small Blind
and Big Blind Bets. The dealer will then deal 4
Hole Cards, face-down, to each player. Starting
with the player left of the Big Blind, the first
round of betting begins. This player must at
least Call the Big Blind bet to stay in the
hand. He may also Raise or Fold. Remember, all
bets/raises must equal the low-end stakes of $2.
Betting continues in clockwise fashion, with
each player choosing to Call, Raise or Fold
until the Small Blind bettor’s turn. This player
may Call the current Bet (add enough chips to
his Small Blind to equal the Bet), Raise or
Fold. The Big Blind may then Check (if no player
has Raised), Call, Raise or Fold. If no player
has Raised, the betting round stops here.
The Flop: The
first 3 Community Cards are dealt face-up to the
center of the table. These cards are used by all
players, in combination with their Hole Cards,
to develop the best hand. A second round of
betting begins, again requiring bets/raises
equal to the low-end stakes of $2, but this time
starting with the original Small Blind bettor.
The Turn: The 4th
Community Card is dealt face-up, followed by
another round of betting. For the remainder of
the hand, bets/raises must be equal to the
high-end stakes of $4.
The River: The 5th
and final Community Card is dealt face-up,
followed by a final round of betting, same as
the last.
The Showdown: If
two or more players remain (i.e. everyone hasn’t
Folded, resulting in an instant winner), a
Showdown will occur. All players remaining in
the hand will combine EXACTLY 2 Hole Cards with
EXACTLY 3 Community Cards to develop the
strongest possible 5-card poker hand. The player
with the highest ranking poker hand wins the
entire pot.
In the event of an
exact tie, (ex: two Queen-High Straights), the
winners split the pot.
Poker Hand Ranks
(highest to lowest)
Royal Flush (Ace-high straight suited)
Straight Flush (straight suited)
4 of a Kind (4 cards of the same value)
Full House (3 of a Kind + 1 Pair)
Flush (all cards suited)
Straight (all cards in sequence)
3 of a Kind (3 cards of the same value)
2 Pair (1 Pair + 1 Pair)
1 Pair (2 cards of the same value)
High Card (none of the combinations above) |
