Poker Omaha
Omaha poker is a popular variant of poker similar to Texas Hold'em. Instead of two cards, you are dealt four, and must make the best poker hand with two of these cards, and three of the five. Omaha poker is a variation of poker that derived from TexasHold’Em. It is so similar that Omaha is sometimes referred to as Omaha Hold’Em but most players simply call it Omaha. Omaha poker can have 2-10 players and uses a 52 card French deck.
- Omaha High - Players and Cards - Deal and Betting - Showdown - Variations
- Five Card Omaha - Six-Card Omaha
Introduction
Omaha is a fairly recent poker variant. It seems that it was first introduced in the 1980's, but it quickly achieved great popularity among casino and tournament players. In Omaha, each player receives four private cards and there are five community cards on the table. In the showdown exactly two private cards together with three community cards must be used to make the player's best hand.
This page assumes some familiarity with the general rules and terminology of poker. See the poker rules page for an introduction to these, and the poker betting and poker hand ranking pages for further details.
Omaha High
Players and Cards
From two to ten players can take part. A standard international 52-card pack is used.
The Deal and Betting
Omaha is usually played with no ante, but with blinds. When there are more than two players, the player to dealer's left places a small blind, and the next player to the left a big blind. The big blind is equal to the minimum bet and the small blind is typically half that amount. When there are only two players (a 'heads-up' game), the dealer places the small blind and the non-dealer the big blind. Omaha High is often played with a pot limit betting structure, though other limits are possible - see betting limits for details. 'Pot Limit Omaha' is often abbreviated to PLO.
The cards are shuffled and cut, the dealer 'burns' one card and then deals the cards one at a time face down until each player has four cards. These are known as the player's hole cards or pocket cards. Players may look at their four hole cards and must not show them to any other player.
The first betting round is begun by the player to the left of the big blind. The blinds count as bets, so the small blind need only pay the difference between the blinds to call. The big blind player acts last and is allowed to raise, even if the other active players have all called.
After the first betting round the dealer burns one card and deals three cards face up to the table. These three cards are known as the flop. There is then a second betting round begun by the first active player to the left of the dealer seat.
When the second betting round is complete, the dealer burns a card and then deals one card face up to the table. This card is known as the turn or fourth street. There is then a third betting round, again begun by the first active player to the left of the dealer seat.
After the third betting round the dealer burns another card and deals one more card face up - the river or fifth street. There is fourth and final round of betting before the showdown, again begun by the first active player to the left of the dealer seat.
The Showdown
Active players show all four of their cards in clockwise order, beginning with the who was the last to bet or raise in the final betting round. If everyone checked in the final betting round, the first active player to the left of the dealer seat is the first to show. See the betting and showdown page for further details.
Each player makes the highest possible five-card poker hand using exactly two of their own cards with exactly three of the face-up table cards, which are known as the board.
Note that:
- For a hand to be considered for winning the pot, the player must show all four hole cards, even though only two of them are used to make the best hand.
- The cards speak for themselves: the best hand is entitled to win the pot if shown, even if the owner does not realise that it is the best hand.
- As always, poker hands consist of just five cards. The two unused hole cards and two unused board cards have no bearing on whether one hand is better than another.
Variations
The Swedish variant Sviten Special is described on a separate page.
Omaha High-Low 8 or Better
Omaha is very often played in such a way that the pot is split between the players with the highest and lowest hands. Since a low hand has to have no card higher than 8 to win its share of the pot, the game is called Omaha High-Low Eight or Better or Omaha/8 for short. This is commonly played as a fixed limit game. The deal is the same as in Omaha High, described above, but with fixed limits the size of the bet doubles after the turn card is dealt, so that the third and fourth betting rounds are played with big bets.
At the showdown, each active player makes their highest hand and their lowest hand. Each of these hands must use exactly two hole cards (but not necessarily the same two cards for high and for low) and exactly three board cards (but not necessarily the same three). When making a low hand, the five cards must all be of different ranks, the aces count as low, straights and flushes do not count, and no card can be higher than an 8. So the best low hand is A-2-3-4-5 and the worst is 8-7-6-5-4. Cards are compared from the top down, so 7-5-4-3-2 is better than 7-6-3-2-A because the 5 is lower than the 6.
In this game the cards speak for themselves. This is important because some hands can be quite confusing to read. In a formal game the non-playing dealer will read the hands and tell the players what they have, but in any case it is the duty of all players to try to ensure that the the highest and lowest hands are correctly identified, and to speak up if any hand is wrongly evaluated.
Example: player:
board:
This player has a club flush A-8-6-4-2 for high (not a full house, which would use three hole cards). The low hand is 6-4-3-2-A using the 2 and either a 6 or the 4 from the the player's hand.
The pot is split equally between the highest hand and the lowest hand. If players tie for highest or for lowest, that half of the pot is divided equally between them. If none of the active players qualifies for low (which will automatically be the case if there are not three different cards lower than 9 on the board), then the player with the highest hand wins the whole pot.
Other sites
O8 Poker is dedicated to Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or better, giving rules and advice, offering a personal coaching service, and providing brief reviews of some sites where it can be played online.
Five Card Omaha
This is exactly like normal Omaha except that each player is dealt five private cards. As in four-card Omaha, hands are formed of exactly two private cards with exactly three board cards. There are five-card versions of Omaha High and of Omaha/8. These games, and the six-card game below, are sometimes known as Big O.
Six Card Omaha
Poker Omaha Pot Limit
This is the same as normal Omaha except that each player is dealt six private cards. As usual, hands must use exactly two private cards and three board cards.
Courchevel
This variant is popular in France and has spread to other parts of Europe, including the UK. Five hole cards are dealt to each player and in addition, one card is dealt face up to the table before the first betting round. After the first betting round a card is burned and two more are dealt face up to the table to complete the three-card flop, and there is a second betting round. Then as in normal Omaha a fourth table card (the turn) is dealt face up followed by a third betting round, and a fifth table card (the river) is dealt, followed by a final betting round. In the showdown, players must use exactly two of their five hole cards together with exactly three of the five table cards to make their hand, and the best hand wins the pot.
Binglao
Omaha Free Poker No Limit
This is a Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) variant that has been played several times in the Norwegian Poker Championship week in Dublin, Ireland. Before each deal the player holding the dealer button rolls a 6-sided die. The result of the roll determines how many private cards will be dealt to each player and whether the game will be High or High-Low 8 or Better.
| Die Roll | Cards per player | Game type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | PLO High/Low |
| 2 | 5 | PLO High/Low |
| 3 | 6 | PLO High/Low |
| 4 | 4 | PLO High |
| 5 | 5 | PLO High |
| 6 | 6 | PLO High |
In tournamentsthe game is often listed as 'Binglao 6 max' which probably means that not more than 6 players are allowed at a table, though it would in fact be possible for 7 people to play without running out of cards.
Omaha Hold'em is played with a standard 52-card deck, with each player receiving four down cards as their initial hand. There is a round of betting after these cards have been delivered. Three board cards are then turned face-up (which is called 'the flop') and another round of betting occurs. Another card is turned face up, followed by a round of betting. A final board card is then turned up and a final round of betting ensues. These five board cards are 'community cards' and after the final round of betting has been completed, a player must use a combination of two cards in his hand and three cards from the board to determine his best hand.
Omaha uses a flat disc called a 'Dealer Button' to indicate the player, who in theory, deals the cards for that pot. The Button (player with the Dealer-Button) is last to receive cards on the initial deal and has the right of last-action on all betting rounds except the first. One or more 'blind' bets are used to stimulate action and initiate play. 'Blinds' are posted before the player looks at his cards. 'Blinds' count as part of that player's bet, unless the structure for a specific game or situation requires part or all of a particular 'blind' to be 'dead'. 'Dead' chips are not part of a player's bet and are taken into the center of the pot.
'Blinds' are posted by players in consecutive clockwise order from the Button. Action is initiated on the first betting round, by the player on the immediate left of the person who posted the furthest 'blind' clockwise from the Button. On all subsequent betting rounds, the action is started by the first active player clockwise from the Button.
RULES FOR OMAHA POKER
Winning hand must show all cards prior to pot being awarded. Cards speak for themselves. Dealers will assist in reading hands to the best of their ability, although it is the player's responsibility to protect his or her hand at all times.
Although verbal declaration with regard to the content of a player's hand is not binding, a player miscalling a hand with intent to cause another player to discard his hand, may, at the discretion of management, risk forfeiting the pot and/or be expelled from Bicycle Casino property.
Buy-in for all Omaha Hold'em games is generally 10 times the minimum bet.
Check and raise is permitted.
A bet and three raises are allowed.
No limit on raises when only two players remain before the third raise has been made.
String bets or raises are not allowed. Putting a half raise or more into the pot must be completed. Anything less is a call only, unless the player has announced 'raise'.
A player who puts a single chip into the pot that is larger than the bet to him is assumed to have called the bet, unless he announces 'raise'.
No pot may be awarded until all losing hands have been killed. The winning hand should remain face up until the pot is awarded.
A card that is face up in the deck (boxed card) shall be treated as a 'scrap of paper'. A Joker, when playing in an Omaha Hold'em game that does not use a Joker, is also a scrap of paper. A card being treated as a scrap of paper is replaced by the next card below it in the deck, except when the next card has already been intermingled with another player's cards. In this situation, it will be replaced after that round of cards have been dealt. If a player does not call attention to the Joker among his down cards before acting on his hand, then he has a foul hand and forfeits all rights to the pot and all monies involved.
If a player's hole card is exposed due to a dealer error, he may not keep the exposed card. After completing the deal, the dealer will exchange the exposed card with the top card on the deck and place the exposed card face up on top of the deck. The exposed card will be used as the burn card, before the flop. If two or more cards are exposed on the deal, it is a misdeal.
If a player is dealt more or less cards than the game he is playing in calls for, and it is discovered before two players act on their hands, it is a misdeal. If it is discovered after two players have acted, all monies, antes and blinds are forfeited by that player.
If the flop has too many cards, it will be taken back and reshuffled excluding the burn card which will remain burned. No new burn card will be used.
Poker Omaha
If cards are flopped by the dealer before all the betting is completed, the flop is taken back and reshuffled, as above.
If the dealer turns up the fourth card on the board before the round of betting is completed, the card is not in play. After completion of the betting, the next card is burned and the fifth card is put up in the fourth card's place. After betting is completed, the dealer will reshuffle the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not the burn cards or discards. The dealer will then deal the fifth card.
If the fifth card is turned up before betting is complete, it shall be reshuffled in the same manner as the previous rule.
The winning hand must show all cards face up on the table; two cards up and the others face down is not a valid hand.
A player may enter play in the middle of the blinds. He may post or buy the button in between the small blind and the button.
A new player entering any Omaha Hold'em game has several options. He may: (1) wait for his big blind, (2) wait until the Button passes and then be dealt right in, or (3) be dealt right in. If he chooses the second or third option, the blind acts as his opening bet and he may either call by rapping the table or make the prescribed raise in turn.
If a player leaves the table for any reason and the blinds pass their position, they may resume play by posting the total amount of the blinds for the game or wait for the big blind. If he chooses to post the total amount of the blinds, the small blind goes to the center of the pot while the big blind is live. The player may also buy the button.
Poker Omaha Free
An all-in wager of less than half a bet does not reopen the betting for any player who has already acted and is in the pot for a previous bet. A player facing less than half a bet may fold, call or complete the wager. An all-in wager of half a bet or more is treated as a full bet and a player may fold, call or make a full raise.
Poker Omaha Calculator
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