Omaha Poker

Omaha Poker Rules  

In general, Omaha Poker shares some similarities with Texas Holdem as they are using similar rules and poker hand rankings. However, as mentioned, Omaha poker is played with four hole cards which are unique and opposed to two in Texas Hold’em. Players must choose whether to check, bet, raise, or fold as each community card is revealed in the betting rounds to create the best five-card that includes exactly two hold cards.  

Omaha Poker Hand Rankings 

To understand how to win in Omaha Poker, you need to know and understand what are the poker hand rankings. This system is used in most poker games, including Texas Holdem, Omaha Poker, and many others. Once you get familiarized with poker hand rankings, you will know what beats what in most types of poker.  

The list of poker hands is ranked from the stronger to the weakest possible hand:  

1. Royal Flush  
2. Straight Flush  
3. Four of a Kind  
4. Full House  
5. Flush  
6. Straight  
7. Three of a Kind  
8. Two Pair  
9. One Pair  
10. High Card  

Royal Flush is the highest hand in poker while the High Card is the lowest poker hand. You may learn more about the poker hand rules with our poker hands chart here.  

Variations of Omaha Poker 

There are a few different types of Omaha and the two most popular versions are Omaha Hi and Omaha Hi-lo.  

• Omaha Hi: Omaha Hi is the standard version of Omaha Poker where players have to form the best five-card hand to win the game. We will explain more about the rules of Omaha Hi in this article. 

• Omaha Hi-Lo: Omaha Hi-lo is a derived version from the standard Omaha Poker. In this version, the pot is divided between the highest and lowest hands. The best hand is one in which the same player simultaneously owns the highest and lowest hands, winning the pot. At showdown, the pot is split equally between the best high and low hands, each best high and low hand wins half of the pot. 

Learn more about Omaha Hi-lo here. 

Betting limits of Omaha 

Like Texas Holdem, there are three main types of betting limits in Omaha Poker. 

• Pot Limit Omaha Poker – The total of the chips in the pot is the maximum wager allowed in this version of Omaha. The small blind is equal to the minimal wager. If a player wishes to raise, he must do so in the same round and at least as much as the preceding stake. This is also the most-played version of Omaha poker. 
• No Limit Omaha Poker – Depending on the chips, a player is free to bet with any amount. This is the most aggressive version of Omaha poker since there is no cap on the betting amount. 
• Fixed Limit Omaha Poker – The betting amount for each betting round is predetermined. A pot can only be raised in fixed limit Omaha four times, and each raise or bet must be the same size as the blinds.  

Dealing of a Hand in Omaha Poker 

The Blinds 

In Omaha, there is also a forced bet like Texas Hold’em. The two players to the dealer’s left must post the blinds before any card is dealt. The player directly to the left of the dealer places the “small” blind, and the player directly to the left of the small blind places the “big” blind, just like in Texas Hold Em. Ex: The big blind is 0.10, and the small blind is 0.05. 

The dealer can then proceed to deal with the cards once the blinds are set. Move clockwise around the table beginning with the small blind (the player to the dealer’s left). Up until everyone has exactly four cards, one face-down card is dealt to each player at a time. 

The Betting Options 

Like other variations of poker, Omaha allows players to fold, check, bet, call, or raise. Which alternatives are actually available depending on what the previous players did. 

• Fold — To give up on your current bets by folding your cards face down on the table and giving up. Only fold if you believe your hand is too feeble to stand a chance against the others. 
• Check — To pass. If you don’t take any action (bet), there is nothing to call. You can choose to “check” if you don’t feel like placing a bet. The action will return to you to call, fold, or raise if there is further action from your fellow players in the betting round. 
• Bet —  Depending on the quality of the hand, the player places a specified quantity of bets (or bluff if they are feeling adventurous). The amount must exceed the big blind. 
• Call — To put in the bare minimum of the bet amount into the pot required to keep a hand active. 

• Raise — To bet more than what is necessary to call, requiring other players to do the same. 

Pre-Flop 

After receiving the hold cards, each player has the option to call or raise the big blind with his hand. The big blind, which is a “live” bet in this round, is where the action starts to the left of it. The choice is the player’s to fold, call, or raise. For instance, if the huge blind was $2, calling would cost $2, and raising would cost at least $4. After that, the table is circled clockwise. 

The Flop 

On the board, three cards are now dealt face-up. This is referred to as “the flop.” The three cards that appear on the flop in Omaha are community cards that can be used by any remaining players in the hand. Starting immediately clockwise from the button, bets on the flop are placed by the active players. The betting options are the same as pre-flop, but if no one has placed a bet before, players may choose to check, which moves the action clockwise to the next player.  

The Turn  

The “turn” is dealt face-up on the board after the betting for the flop round is over. The turn is the fourth community card in Omaha. The next betting round starts with the player who is currently active and moves clockwise from the button. 

The River  

The “river”, which is the fifth and last community card is dealt face-up on the board once all betting for the turn round has concluded. The same betting guidelines that were described above for the flop and turn also apply for this round of betting, starting with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. 

The Showdown  

If more than one player remains after the final betting round, the remaining players reveal and compare their hands to decide who the winner or winners are. In Omaha, players must combine exactly three cards from the board with two and only two of their four hole cards to form the highest hand and win the pot. The pot will be split equally between the players with the best hands if there are identical hands.  

A new hand of Omaha is ready to be played when the pot is given. New hands are dealt to each player, the button now advances clockwise to the following player, and blinds and antes are once more posted. 

Note: As you may have noticed, the structure of betting rounds in Omaha is very similar to Texas Hold’em. However, these betting structures may vary when you are playing different versions of Omaha poker.