Omaha Holdem (or just Omaha) is the youngest member of the Poker-family. It has only slowly grown more popular over the last 20 - 25 years.
You can play two versions of Omaha: Omaha High or Omaha Hi Lo. In Omaha Hi Lo, the best low hand wins half the pot. Omaha Hi Lo is often played with a Limited or No-Limit betting structure.
Omaha is related to Texas Holdem. Both variations have community cards, or in other words, a Flop, a Turn and a River.
But there also 2 major differences between Holdem and Omaha. Firstly, with Omaha, every player receives four pocket cards, instead of only two. Secondly, with Omaha, the players have to combine exactly two of their cards with exactly three of their community cards. The following version applies both to Omaha High and to Omaha Hi Lo. The only exception: the Showdown (see below.)
Basics
Omaha is played with the standard 52 card deck and is a Poker variation with community cards. The players must create the best Five-Card-Combination from two of their four individual cards as well as three of the five community cards in order to win the showdown.
One game, or also: one hand can have up to 4 betting rounds.
It is possible to play Omaha with 2 players ("Heads Up") or with up to 10 players on one table ("Ring Game.") There are also tables that are limited to a maximum of 5 or 6 players ("Short-Handed Game.")
The game can be played with three different betting structures: Limit Omaha, Pot Limit Omaha or No Limit Omaha. For further information about the limited betting structure please see the Texas Holdem Rules. For No Limit, a simple rule applies: every player can bet everything he has on the table on every hand.
The explanations in the following section all refer to Pot Limit, the most common betting structure for Omaha.
The Button and the Blinds
For Omaha, as also for Texas Holdem, two players must place the basic Ante or so-called Blinds, before the cards are dealt. The first player to the left of the dealer must place a "Small Blind" and the next player must place a "Big Blind."
The position of the dealer wanders one place to the left after every game, so that no one is disadvantaged. Normally, other than in private Poker rounds, there is either a permanent dealer (at the Casino) or not a real human dealer (at online Poker.) In order to mark the position of the dealer, a so-called "Button" or "Dealer button" is used, a circular disk with the word "Button" printed on it.
Betting and Raising in Limited Pot Games
Different from Limit Poker, in Pot Limit and No Limit games, there is no Small or Big Bet. In a 1€/2€ Pot Limit game, the Big Blind is 2€ and the Small Blind is 1€. The minimum bet in every round is, for both Pot Limit as well as No Pot Limit, equivalent to the Big Blind.
A raise in Limit Poker is always limited to a certain amount according to the situation. With No Limit, a player can determine the amount to be raised independently, within the confines of the minimum raise and the money which he has on the table.
How does this work with Pot Limit games? The minimum raise is a doubling of the Big Blind, just like for Limit Poker. For an explanation of how to calculate the maximum raise, please use the following example:
A 1€/2€ Pot Limit game consists of three players. The first player would like to raise the maximum amount. 3€ are already in the pot, as in the Small Blind and the Big Blind. Calling costs 2€. Then there are 5€ in the pot. Raising in Pot Limit is limited to the amount in the pot, in this case 5€. That means: the first player can raise from 5€ to 7€. Assuming the next player, the Small Blind, would also like to do a maximum raise. There are 10€ in the pot, he must place 6€ to call and can then raise to 16€, or 22€ total. The player at the Big Blind can then raise to 72€.
Unlike with Limit Poker, there are no limits with Pot Limit or No Pot Limit to the number of raises per round.
The Shuffling and Dealing of Cards
After the dealer has shuffled the cards, he begins with the player at the Small Blind and deals one concealed card to each player in sequence. He repeats this procedure 3 more times. Every player receives 4 concealed cards, the so-called "pocket cards" or "hole cards."
Before the Flop (first betting round)
The first betting round takes place after the pocket cards have been dealt. The first player to make a decision is the player to the left of the Big Blind. He has three possibilities: quit ("fold"), go along with the Big Blind ("call"), or as explained in the paragraph "Betting and Raising in Limited Pot Games" increase ("raise.")
The other players have basically the same options, unless it has been raised at least once. In that case, the amount for calling or re-raising is correspondingly higher. If no one raises, the player at the Big Blind is the last in turn. He then has two options: not raise ("check") or raise. If he chooses to raise, the betting round continues until all bets have been equalized.
Should there be only one player remaining at any time, because all others have folded, then this player wins the pot, without having to show his hand, and the next game begins. Should two players remain after the first betting round, then the "Flop" is dealt.
The Flop (second betting round
The dealer lays three cards open on the table. These three cards are called "Flop." They are the first of a total of 5 community cards, which all players may combine with their Pocket Cards for the best five-card-hand. Then the second betting round begins.
The first remaining player to the left of the Button must begin. He can either check or bet. The minimum is equivalent to the Big Blind, the maximum to the amount in the pot. As long as no one has bet, all of the following players have the same options. If someone has already bet, the player, whose turn it is, has three possibilities: fold, call or raise within the described limits. The rest of this betting round follows the same rules as the first betting round. Afterwards, if two or more players remain, the Turn is dealt.
The Turn (third betting round)
The dealer places a fourth open card on the table. This fourth card is called "Turn."
Then the rest of the remaining players begin the third betting round of the game. Unlike Limit Poker, the betting round does not differ from the previous rounds for the Turn in Pot Limit. If, after this betting round there are still two or more players remaining, the River is dealt.
The River (fourth betting round)
The dealer places a fifth open card on the table. This fifth card is called "River." It is the final community card. The five community cards are referred to as "Board." With this, every remaining player can finally build his strongest five-card combination. For this purpose, he must combine exactly 3 community cards with 2 of his pocket cards. Now that all the cards are on the table, the fourth and final betting round begins.
The Showdown
If, after this betting round there are still two or more players remaining, the showdown takes place. The player who called or raised last must reveal his pocket cards first. The rest of the players reveal their pocket cards in a clockwise fashion, only if they can top the hands that have already been revealed.
Omaha High
The player that had the best Five-Card-High-Hand wins the pot. If several players have the same best hand, the pot is divided amongst them.
Omaha Hi Lo
The player that had the best Five-Card-High-Hand wins half the pot. If several players have the same best hand, the half-pot is divided amongst them.
The player that had the best Five-Card-Low-Hand wins the other half the pot. If several players have the same best low hand, the half-pot is divided amongst them.
If the player with the best High Hand also has the best Low Hand, or if no low hand could qualify, this player wins the whole pot ("Scoop.")
