How to play Omaha

Omaha (high) is a great adaptation of Texas Hold'em with a larger range of hand possibilities.

It is a community card game with the object being; win a pot that players invest in by betting on at various rounds. The two biggest differences between Omaha and Texas Hold’em is that in Omaha:

• Each player is dealt four hole cards face down that only they can see.
• Each player must use exactly and two of the four hole cards they are dealt in combination with exactly any three boardcards in efforts to create the strongest hand possible.
Be sure to visit our poker hand chart

Blinds

The closest player to the left of the button is first to be dealt a card and is required to post a small blind equal to half the lower limit bet. The player to the immediate left of the small blind is required to post what is called a big blind. Both blinds in Omaha poker are considered live bets and therefore, according to poker rules, have the option of checking, calling, raising or folding when the betting action returns to their position.

What if I miss a blind?

Omaha Poker Betting Rounds

First Round (Pre-Flop) - After the Omaha players in the two blind positions place their blinds into the pot, the dealer deals four hole cards to each player. At this time each player can see his own cards but not those of his opponents. After seeing their hole cards, players now have the option to play their hands by calling, raising or folding. During the first round, players must call the big blind if they wish to continue playing the hand and the action starts with the first active player to the left of the big blind.
(The maximum dollar value and number of raises per round depends on version of Omaha being played as described below.)

Second Round (The Flop) - Three boardcards are dealt face-up so all active players can see them. In this round play begins with the first active player to the immediate left of the dealer button, who has one of three choices, check, bet, or fold. Until there is a bet, each succeeding active player has, in turn,(clockwise) one of three choices; call, raise, or fold. Bets and raises occur in lower limit bet increments. Therefore in a $5/$10 Omaha game the bet would cost a minimum of $5.

Third Round (The Turn) - When betting action is completed for the flop round, the turn is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in an Omaha poker game. Play once again begins with the active player immediately left (clockwise) of the dealer button and the same rules apply as the second round except that poker betting doubles from the lower limit bet to the higher limit bet. In a $5/$10 game, betting on the turn is done in $10 increments.

Fourth Round (The River) - When betting action is completed for the turn round, the river is dealt face-up on the board. The river is the fifth and final community card in an Omaha game. Play once again begins with the active player immediately left (clockwise) of the dealer button as explained above.

Final Round (The Showdown) - When all the betting is done, if more than one player is still in for the pot then the showdown determines who wins the game. In Omaha, it is possible that one or more betting rounds do not take place if only one active player has any chips left with all other active players having bet all their chips (all-in). When this occurs, any remaining community cards will be dealt face up and a showdown will take place. The last player to raise the bet is required to show their cards first and anyone else can fold / muck. The player with the best five-card hand wins the pot.
(In the event of identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands. Omaha rules state that all suits are equal, so split pots are more common than in other variations of poker. )

There are two different types of Omaha (High) Poker games, made different by their betting structures.

• Limit Omaha: Players may bet a fixed amount for each round.
• Pot Limit Omaha: Players may bet an amount equal to the pot size.