Omaha Hold'em Poker Rules

The rules of Omaha are basically the same as in Texas Hold'em, except for the following two differences:

• In Omaha each player is dealt four hole cards instead of two. Betting rounds and layout of the community cards are identical.
• At showdown, each player's hand is the best five-card hand he can make from exactly two of his hole cards and three of the five cards on the board. For example, even if there are four suited cards on the board and the player has only one of this suit in his hand, he can not make a flush.

Betting Structure

Omaha Hold 'em is normally played using small and big blind bets. These are forced bets by two players. In addition to blinds, forced contributions by all players called "antes" may be used (particularly in later stages of tournament play). The dealer button represents the player in the dealer position. The small blind is posted by the player on the left of the dealer (the next in position clockwise) and is usually equal to half of the big blind. The big blind, posted by the player on the left of the small blind, is equal to the minimum bet. In tournament poker, the blind/ante structure periodically increases as the tournament progresses.

When only two players remain, special 'heads up' rules are enforced and the blinds are posted differently. In this case, the person with the dealer button posts the small blind, while his/her opponent places the big blind. The dealer acts first before the flop. After the flop, the dealer acts last for the remainder of the hand.

The three most common variations are limit, no-limit and pot-limit hold'em.

• In Omaha limit, all bets and raises during the first two rounds of betting must be equal to the big blind; this amount is called the small bet. In the next two rounds of betting (turn and river), bets and raises must be equal to twice the big blind; this amount is called the big bet
• In Omaha no-limit, players may bet or raise any amount over the minimum raise up to all of the chips the player has at the table (which is called an "all-in"). If someone wishes to re-raise, they must raise at least the amount of the previous raise. For example, if the big blind is $2 and there is a bet of $6 to a total of $8, a raise must be at least $6 more for a total of $14. If a raise or re-raise is all-in and does not equal the size of the previous raise, the initial raiser can not re-raise again. This only matters of course if there was a call before the re-raise.
• In Omaha pot-limit, the maximum raise is the current size of the pot.

Play of the hand

Pre-flop

Play begins with each player being dealt four cards face down from a standard 52 card deck without jokers. These cards are the player's hole or pocket cards. These are the only cards each player will receive individually, and they will eventually be revealed at the showdown, making Omaha hold 'em a closed poker game.

The hand begins with a "pre-flop" betting round, starting with the player to the left of the big blind (or the player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and continuing clockwise. A round of betting continues until every player has either folded, put in all of their chips, or matched the amount put in by all other active players. See betting for a detailed account. Note that the blinds are considered "live" in the pre-flop betting round, meaning that they contribute to the amount that the blind player must contribute, and that, if all players call around to the player in the big blind position, that player may either check or raise.

The Flop

After the pre-flop betting round, assuming there remain at least two players taking part in the hand, the dealer deals a flop, three face-up community cards.

Note that in all casinos, the dealer will burn a card before the flop, turn, and river. Because of this burn, players who are betting cannot see the back of the next community card to come, which might be marked.

The flop is followed by a second betting round. This and all subsequent betting rounds begin with the player to the dealer's left and continue clockwise.

The Turn

After the flop betting round ends, a single community card (called the turn or fourth street) is dealt, followed by a third betting round.

The river

A final single community card (called the river or fifth street) is then dealt, followed by a fourth betting round.

The showdown

If a player bets and all other players fold, then the remaining player is awarded the pot and is not required to show his hole cards. If two or more players remain after the final betting round, a showdown occurs.

All players still in the game show their cards, starting with the last player to bet. Players in position after this player may refuse to show their hand and 'muck', essentially the same as folding. This is probably a good idea if you are sure you lost the hand and you don't want to give other players insight on how you play your cards.

On the showdown, each player plays the best five-card poker hand he can make from three of the five community cards and two of his four hole cards. The player must use both of his own two hole cards to form his final five-card hand.

If the best hand is shared by more than one player, then the pot is split equally among them, with any extra chips going to the first players after the button in clockwise order. It is common for players to have closely-valued, but not identically ranked hands. Nevertheless, one must be careful in determining the best hand; if the hand involves fewer than five cards, (such as two pair or three of a kind), then kickers are used to settle ties (see the second example below). Note that the card's numerical rank is of sole importance; suit values are irrelevant in Hold'em.