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Poker Evaluation
Omaha is a poker game similar as Holdem with two differences:
1. each player are dealt four hole cards instead of two.
2. the best five-card hand must use exactly two hole cards and three community Cards. Unlike Holdem, you may not use more than three cards from the board.
The Setup and Betting Structure in Omaha are exactly the same as in Holdem.
If you're new to the game, just read through the how to play guide below.
The Setup:
In Omaha, each player is dealt four personal cards, face down, called "pocket" or "hole" cards. In addition, there are five face-up community cards that can be used by all players. Each player makes his/her poker hand by using exactly two of the hole cards and three of the community cards.
To indicate which person is the dealer from round to round, a disc or other such marker, called the "button", is placed in front of them. To start the action, the person to the left of the dealer posts the small blind, a forced bet usually half of the minimum bet. The next person to the left posts the big blind, a forced bet equal to the minimum bet. These two bets are called "blind" because they are posted before the two players look at their cards.
Betting Structure:
For pre-Flop and the Flop betting: a player can call, raise or fold. In order to call, the player must place a bet that is equal to the previous bet. For example, if the Big Blind is $1, the call is now $1. Players are given the option to call the present bet (place $1 into the pot), to raise the bet (place $2 into the pot), or to fold (place nothing into the pot). Players who fold are out of the game until the next deal.
For the Turn and the River betting: all other betting rounds afterward starts with the first player to the left of the dealer button. In the fixed limit game, the bet in these rounds is twice as much as in the first round. For example, if the bet in the first round is $1, the betting in these rounds is $2. Players now have the option to check (to pass on the betting without folding), or to bet (place $2 into the pot). After a player bets, other players can no longer check, but can instead call (place $2 into the pot), raise
A round concludes when all players have taken action. In a fixed limit game, when the maximum number of raises (usually 3) has been reached, it's called "cap" (place $4 into the pot), or fold (place nothing into the pot).
Start of Game
The Hole Cards:
Each player sitting at the table are dealt with 4 hole cards.
The pre-Flop betting (see Betting Structure) starts.
The Flop:
After the pre-Flop betting is completed, the dealer takes the top card and sets it aside (called "burning"), and then places the three community cards face up on the table. This is called the Flop.
The betting for the Flop (see Betting Structure) starts.
The Turn:
After the betting for the Flop is completed, another card is burned. The dealer then places the fourth community face up on the table. This is called the "4th Street" or the "Turn".
The betting for the Turn (see Betting Structure) starts.
The River:
After the betting for the Turn is completed, another card is burned. The fifth and final community card is placed face up. This is known as the "5th Street" or the "River".
The betting for the River (see Betting Structure) starts.
The Show Down:
After the betting for the River is completed. The remaining players turn up their hole cards, this is called Show Down. The winner is the player who makes the best possible five card hand using exactly two cards from their hand and three cards from the board.
The highest five card poker hand (see Hand Ranking) wins the pot. If there is a tie, then every player who is tied divides the pot evenly between them.
This is important. Unlike Holdem, you cannot use just one card from your hand, nor can you play the board.
After the hand is finished, the dealer Button moves clockwise to the next player, who becomes the dealer and another play begins.
End of Game
Game Limits:
In Omaha, there are three different game limits, Fixed Limit (or simply Limit), Pot Limit (PL) and No Limit (NL). The basic rules for the three are the same, but the betting methods are different. Fixed Limit: In Limit Omaha, bets and raises are set at a predetermined amount. For example, in a $1/$2 game, the small blind is $0.50, half the minimum bet, and $1 is the big blind. Bets and raises on preflop and flop betting are made in $1 increments. On the turn and river betting rounds, betting is in increments twice that of the first two streets, $2 a bet.
Pot Limit: In PL Omaha, bets and raises can be made up to the current size of the pot. For example in a $1/$2 game, if the current size of the pot is $11, the maximum amount for a bet or raise is $11. The minimum bet is $1 for the flop or preflop and $2 for the turn or the river.
No Limit: In NL Omaha, bets and raises can be made of any amount. The minimum bet is the size of the big blind. The maximum bet is everything on front of that player. When players bet the maximum, it's called going "All In," meaning they have bet all of their money. For the other players to call they must match their opponent’s bet, up to and including going all in themselves.
In Omaha, Limit and PL games are more popular than NL.
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