Omaha

As in Hold'em, in Omaha, players share five "community" cards (which are dealt face-up in the center of the table). In Omaha, players start with four "down" cards. In Omaha, you MUST use two of your four "down" cards along with three "up" cards (community cards) on the board to form your hand. (Click here to see "Rank of Hands"). Upon the completion of betting, the best hand wins the pot.

Remember: In Omaha, you MUST use two of your four "down" cards along with three "up" cards (community cards) to form your hand. There are four betting rounds in Omaha. In Omaha High and Omaha 8 or Better, one bet and three raises are allowed per betting round. To continue to play, players must call all action to them on each betting round (unless they are "all-in").

Here is the procedure for Omaha :

1. Prior to dealing the cards, two blinds (the Small Blind and the Big Blind) are placed in the pot by the two players to the immediate left of the dealer, which is indicated by the dealer "button". (All new players to a game must "post" a Big Blind. This can be done by waiting for the actual Big Blind or "posting" it from another position.)
2. Everyone is dealt four "down" cards. The player to the immediate left of the Big Blind starts the action (by folding, calling the Big Blind, or raising). Play continues in a clockwise manner. This is the first betting round.
3. Three cards are dealt face-up (community cards known as "The Flop"). This is the second round of betting. (Beginning with this round of betting and throughout the remaining rounds of betting, the action begins with the player to the left of the dealer "button".)
4. Another card is dealt face-up (known as the "The Turn" or "Fourth Street"). This is the third betting round. (In Omaha High and Omaha 8 or Better games, the size of the bet doubles on this round of betting.)
5. The final card is dealt face-up (known as "The River" or "Fifth Street"). This is the final round of betting.
6. Upon the completion of betting, the best hand(s) wins the pot.

Note: The Blinds are determined by the size of the game.

Omaha 8 Or Better

Omaha 8 or Better is the High/Low version of Omaha. It is a "split pot" game. Over the past few years, Omaha 8 or Better has been the fastest growing poker game in the world. Players love it because it is an action game.

There is no qualifying on the "High" side - the best high hand automatically wins half the pot and could win the whole pot. To win the "Low" side of the pot, however, you must qualify (which is why the game is named Omaha "8 or Better").

To qualify for Low: It takes a five-card hand with different numerical values from Ace through eight (with the Ace being the lowest) to qualify for the "Low" half of the pot. The best "Low" hand is A, 2, 3, 4, 5 (also known as the "wheel" or "bicycle"). The winning "Low" hand goes to the player with the lowest high card. For example, a player with a 2,4,5,6,7 would have a better "Low" hand than someone with an A,2,4,6,8. If two or more players have the same high card, the player with the second lowest card (or third, fourth, or fifth if necessary) in their hand wins the pot.

Important:

1. Straights and flushes do NOT count against you when qualifying for "Low".
2. You are permitted to use different cards in your hand for the "High" side and different cards for the "Low" side or the same cards for both the "High" and "Low" sides. In a split pot, any leftover odd chip goes to the "High" side of the pot.

Ties: In case two or more players "tie" for one side of the pot, they will split that half into equally divided portions. If there is an odd chip(s), it will go to the person(s) closest to the left of the "button". One player winning the "High" side and two players who tie for the "Low" side is not uncommon in Omaha 8 or Better.

Key to Remember: To determine your hand(s) in Omaha 8 or Better, you MUST play two of your four "down" cards with three of the "up" cards (community cards). You may play different cards for the "High" and "Low" sides. A player "scoops" the pot when they win the whole pot. (This is your mission.)