Omaha

Rules

Omaha can be played with 2-10 players. It is similar to Texas Hold'em, the difference being that each player gets four downcards at the beginning of a round. As the game progresses, another 5 cards are dealt face up to the board. These are divided into the flop (first 3 cards), turn (4th card), and river (5th card).

Flop	Turn	River

The aim is to make the best possible combination of cards using the five board cards and the player's four downcards. It is important to note that unlike in Hold'em, a player must use exactly two of his cards and three board cards.

The player with the best hand or the last player remaining wins all the wagers made in a round.

Gameplay

Every round of the game, also called a hand, is divided into 5 basic phases

Preflop

All players are dealt 4 cards face down, called holecards. Only the player to which the cards were dealt may use them. The first betting round ensues, where players may make wagers or withdraw from the hand.

Flop

After the first round of betting is complete, the first three board cards are dealt face up. All players may use these cards. The second round of wagers are placed.

Turn

A fourth card is dealt open to the board and the third round of bets are placed.

River

A fifth and final board card is dealt and more bets are made.

Showdown

After all the cards have been dealt and all wagers made, the remaining players compare their cards and determine who has the winning hand.

Order of player actions

In Omaha, the task of dealer moves in clockwise fashion from player to player after each whole round of play. The dealer is denoted by a small chip called the dealer button. The dealer is said to eb onthe button. If blinds are being used as forced bets, then the two players immediately to the left of the dealer must pay them.

Blinds

The player to the left of the dealer pays the small blind. The player to the left of the small blind pays the big blind.

Dealer

Small Blind

Big Blind

Order of players in a betting round

The first betting round is opened by the player immediately to the left of the big blind.

Thereafter, the action proceeds around the table in clockwise fashion. Hence, if a player has placed a bet, then the player immediately to his left is next to act.

Structure of a betting round

There are five actions a player can make.

check	The player passes the action to the next player
bet	The player makes a wager of money or chips.
call	The player calls if he matches an opponents wager exactly.
raise	The player calls an opposing bet and makes a bet of his own.
fold	The player lays down his cards and withdraws from the current hand.

If a player has bet or raised, then the following players must call or raise that bet or raise; they cannot check. They can always fold, though. They can only raise if the limit on raises, determined by the house rules, has not been reached. Usually, this limit is four raises per round of betting.
If no bets are outstanding, a player may check to the next player without making a wager. In the preflop round, the blinds are considered outstanding wagers and so only the big blind may check, provided no other players have raised by the time the action makes it to him.

The action moves in clockwise fashion around the table until all players have folded or matched all wagers made in that round. The exception is when a player does not have enough chips at the table to match a bet. He is then considered all-in, and no longer participates in betting rounds, although he is guaranteed to participate in the showdown and cannot be forced to fold.

Omaha Hi/Lo

Omaha Hi/Lo is a variant where the players with the best and worst hands split thepot. A lo hand is one that consists only of cards less than 8. It is also called Omaha eight or better.

The values of the cards for a lo hand are: A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. The ace is low in this case. Straights and flushes are ignored for the purposes of counting a lo hand. Hence, the best lo hand is 5432A. Pairs, three of a kinds, and quads disqualify a hand for being lo, so that e.g. 544AA would not be a lo hand.

The best lo hand is the one with the lowest high card, not as some beginners often think. For example, the hand 76543 beats the hand 8542A.

If there is no qualified lo hand, then the player with the best hi hand wins the whole pot. In principle, one can imagine that the pot is divided into a lo half and a hi half. If two or more players have equivalent hands, they split the half of the pot designated for their type of hand. So if there are two equivalent lo hands, then they would each get 1/4 of the whole pot, or 1/2 of the lo half of the pot. The hi hand in that case would get 1/2 of the pot.

Omaha Hi/Lo ist eine Spielvariante, in der sich der Spieler mit der besten Hand und der Spieler mit der schlechtesten Hand den Pot teilen. Eine so genannte Lo-Hand liegt dann vor, wenn alle Karten kleiner oder gleich 8 sind. Daher nennt man diese Variante auch Omaha eight or better.

Related Topics:

Poker hands, Blind, Flop, Turn, River, Showdown, All-In, Bet, Raise, Check, Fold