How to Play Omaha Poker

The rules for playing Omaha Poker is very similar to playing Texas Hold 'Em. There are only a few differences but they are significant which makes these games unique from each other.

Basic Rules

Unlike in Texas Hold 'Em, each player in Omaha Poker is dealt four cards instead of two and they are dealt face down. The players must then make the best possible hand using the four cards and the five community cards. Two must come from the four hole cards and three cards from the community cards. The four cards that players receive at the start of the game are called ‘pocket cards’. The maximum amount of players at an Omaha Poker table is ten. Betting begins after all players receive their cards.

In Omaha hi-lo, the player with the best ranked hand wins half of the pot and the player with the lowest ranked hand wins the other half. If there is a tie between the players ranked hands then the pot will be shared between the players with the best hand. If no hands qualify as the low hand then that share of the pot will be shared by the best ranked hand.

The low hand has to consist of 8-7-6-5-4 or lower in order to qualify to win half of the pot. Ace is considered as both high and low and there is a limit of three raises per round.

As with Texas Hold 'Em a button is used to signify the placement of the dealer which moves around the table after each round. Card distribution generally starts to the left of the dealer and the order of placing bets also starts from the left of the dealer.

Betting

Similar to Texas Hold 'Em, prior to a game starting, the first person left of the dealer has to bet the "small blind" and the subsequent player after that must bet the "big blind" which is double. When this is complete, the four hole cards are dealt to all players and the first person left of the dealer has the first play of deciding whether to raise, call or flop.