How To Play | Omaha Rules

Omaha Rules

• Each player is dealt four cards face down, as opposed to the two cards that are dealt in Texas Hold'em. That is the first variation.
• Five community cards are then dealt.
• The second noticeable difference from Texas Hold'em is the fact that the players must choose two of their four cards and are required to use both of them in order to make the best hand possible.
• In Texas Hold'em, you may use any combination of your two hole cards, or leave one of them out altogether. You can use four cards from the community cards and one from your hand, or two from your hand combined with three from the community board.
• Omaha is a bit trickier. You must use 2 of your hole cards when forming your best possible hand. If all hearts are showing on the board, and you are holding an ace of hearts and a king of diamonds, you would have a flush in Texas Hold'em. When playing Omaha, you would simply be holding an ace high hand, since both cards must be used.

Types of Betting

• Pot Limit - In this popular variation, the maximum amount that can be bet is the total sum of the chips in the pot. This makes it inexpensive to begin the hand, but can become quite risky and costly by the end.
• Fixed Limit - In this version, a pot can only be raised a maximum of four times and the bet or raise must be equal to the size of the blinds. Not a lot of folding takes place in this version, as it is relatively inexpensive to stay in the game.
• No Limit - In this aggressive version , players can bet or raise as much as they desire and at any point during the betting.

Variations of the Game

• Omaha Hi - Just as it sounds, in this version, the highest five card hand takes the pot
• Fixed Limit - In this version, a pot can only be raised a maximum of four times and the bet or raise must be equal to the size of the blinds. Not a lot of folding takes place in this version, as it is relatively inexpensive to stay in the game.
• Omaha Hi/Low - A common variation, the pot is split between the highest and lowest hands. An example of a low hand is one that would be a loser in any other game. For example, if you are holding a 7 of hearts and a 6 of diamonds and combine those with a 4, 3, and 2 of any suit on the board, you'd have a very strong "low hand". In Omaha Hi/Low, the best possible hand is one in which the same player holds both the highest and lowest hands simultaneously, thus winning the entire pot.