Omaha may resemble Texas Hold’em in the fact that it is a game played with five community cards but the game is quite different. There are two variations of the game, Omaha High only and Omaha Hi/Lo split. It can be played with the betting being a structured Limit game or you can find No Limit and Pot Limit games. I will use the Limit Omaha High game in the explanation about how to play.
The rules of the game are fairly easy to learn. Limit Hold'em has structured betting, and the lowest limit you will usually find in most casinos is a $2/$4. Other limits you may find are 5/10 or 10/20 or higher. I will be using the 32/4 game as an example in this book. That means the minimum bet is three dollars during the first two rounds of betting and the minimum bet is six dollars during the last two betting rounds. These same limits are used when you raise as well.
The Dealer
Since the casino supplies a dealer one player must be the designated dealer who will act last during the betting rounds. A disk or "Button" is used to identify the dealer and this is rotated to the left after each hand. Unlike stud, all the players do not ante each round. Blind bets are posted to generate a starting pot just the way that they are in Texas Hold’em.
The Start
To start a new hand two "Blind" bets are put up or "Posted." The player immediately to the left of the player with the dealer button puts up or "posts" the small blind which is approximately half the minimum bet. The small blind for the $2/4 game is one dollar. The player to the left of the small blind posts the big blind which is equal to the minimum bet which is two dollars for this game. The rest of the players do not put up any money to start the hand. Because the button rotates around the table, each player will eventually act as the big blind, small blind and dealer. It will cost you three dollars every time the deal makes a complete rotation around the table.
The Opening
After the blinds are posted, each player is dealt four cards face down with the player on the small blind receiving the first card and the player with the dealer button getting the last card. The first betting round begins with the player to the left of the big blind either putting in two dollars to "Call" the blind bet, or putting in four dollars to "raise" the big blind or folding his hand. The betting goes around the table in order until it reaches the player who posted the small blind. That player can call the bet by putting in one dollar since a dollar bet was already posted. The last person to act is the big blind. If no one has raised, the dealer will ask if they would like the option. This means the big blind has the option to raise or just "check."
The Flop
After the first betting round is completed, the dealer will "burn" or discard the top card on the deck. This is done to make sure no one could have accidentally seen the top card. Three cards are dealt and turned face up in the middle of the table. This is known as the "Flop." These are community cards used by all the players. Another betting round begins with the first active player to the left of the dealer button. The minimum bet for this round is also three dollars.
The Turn
When the betting round after the flop is completed, the dealer burns another card and turns a fourth card, face up, in the middle of the table. This is referred to as the "Turn." The minimum bet after the turn is now four dollars and begins again with the first active player to the left of the button.
The River
Following the betting round for the turn, the dealer will burn another card and turn a fifth and final card face up. This is called the "river," and the final betting round begins with four dollars being the minimum bet. There is usually a three or four raise maximum during all betting rounds except if the play becomes heads up with two players. Then the raises are unlimited.
The Showdown
To determine the winner, the players MUST use two of his hole cards and three cards from the "Board" to form the highest five-card hand. In some rare cases the best hand will be the five cards on board. In that case, the active players will split the pot. A sixth card is never used to break a tie.
Omaha Hi/Lo is a split pot game. That means there can be two winners if there is a qualifying low hand. The Player with the highest hand will split the pot with a player with the lowest hand. The Hi/Lo split game is sometimes called Omaha Eight or Better. In order to have a hand qualify as low there must be no cards higher than 8 in your five card hand. Since in Omaha you must use two cards from your hand, there must be three cards on the board that are eight or lower. If there is no qualifying low hand the winner with the highest hand will win.
Low Hand
An ace can be used as either high or low. A flush or straight is ignored when making a low hand. Therefore the lowest hand is A 2 3 4 5. This hand is also called a “wheel. If two players have the same hand, they will split the low half of the pot. This is not uncommon because many players will play any hand that consists of an Ace-deuce. When two players split the low, we refer to it as getting “Quartered” as you only win a quarter of the pot.
Scooping the Pot
Since you have four cards in your hand, you can use any combination of two for the high hand and low hand. You may use two cards for high and two different cards for low. The ideal situation in Omaha is to have a hand that will win both the high hand and the low hand. The other way to win the whole pot is to have the highest hand and have no low hand possible.
Counterfeited
If you have an Ace and a deuce in you hand and there is an Ace or deuce on the board, you hand is counterfeited if there are not four low cards. Since you must use two cards from your hand you will need to have three different low cards on the board or your hand will not count as low.
Example:
You have A-2
The board is:
2 4 5 J Q
You cannot make a low hand because the 2 is paired.
A Wild Game
Omaha Hi/Lo can be a very wild game. You will get players raising when they have a high hand and players raising when they have a low hand. It leads to some big pots and makes it a very exciting game.
