Omaha Hold’em (also known as just Omaha) is a game that plays similar to Texas Hold’em,
but with a few📉 key differences.
Like Texas Hold’em, the object of Omaha is to make the
best possible five-card hand, using a combination of📉 hole cards and five community
cards.
In Omaha, however, players are dealt four hole cards, and must make a five-card
hand📉 using exactly two hole cards and three community cards.
This differs from Texas
Hold’em, in which players get two hole cards,📉 and can use any combination of hole cards
and community cards to make the best five-card hand.
Two versions of Omaha📉 are commonly
played around the world, regular Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo (aka Omaha Eight or Better). The
next sections will📉 cover regular Omaha. Learn how to play Omaha Hi-Lo here.
Omaha Rules
Overview
Omaha is usually played with either pot-limit or limit📉 betting rules. For more
on the different betting structures in poker, check out our guide to Poker Betting
Rules.
Pot Limit📉 Omaha is commonly called “PLO”, and is the second-most popular poker
game in the world, behind Texas Hold’em.
Omaha is played📉 using the buttons and blinds
system seen in many other poker variants. For more on how this system works, check📉 out
our guide to Blinds, Antes & The Button.
An Omaha game begins with each player getting
dealt four cards. The📉 dealer distributes these cards one at a time, starting with the
player in the small blind and going clockwise around📉 the table.
Once all players have
four hole cards in front of them, the first of four betting rounds begins. Like📉 in
Texas Hold'em, players keep their hole cards hidden from other players throughout the
game, only turning them over if📉 a showdown takes place.
Omaha games involve four
betting rounds -- preflop, flop, turn, and river.
Pot Limit Omaha Example
Hand
Preflop
When all📉 players have four cards, the player to the direct left of the big
blind begins the preflop betting round. This📉 player has the opportunity to call (match
the amount of the big blind), raise (bet an amount that's at least📉 2x the big blind
amount), or fold (discard their hand and surrender any chance to win the pot).
After
this player📉 calls, raises, or fold, the action moves clockwise around the table, with
each player having the chance to either call,📉 raise or fold. The player on the big
blind acts last, unless there is further action that needs to close📉 after the big blind
acts.
When all players have had the opportunity to either call, raise, or fold, all
players remaining📉 who did not fold advance to the next betting round, known as the
flop.
For example, let's say we're watching a📉 PLO cash game, with six players atR$1/$2
cash game stakes. After each player is dealt their four hole cards, the📉 player directly
to the big blind's left (generally known as the "under-the-gun" player) has the option
to either call theR$2📉 big blind, raise to at leastR$4, or fold.
The under-the-gun
player folds, and the next player to the left also folds.📉 In a six-player game, this
would make the player on the "cutoff", directly to the right of the button, next📉 to
act.
The cutoff player raises toR$6 and the player on the button calls. The small blind
folds, surrendering theirR$1 forced📉 bet into the pot. The big blind, who already has a
forcedR$2 bet in play, also calls, puttingR$4 more in📉 the pot to match theR$6 raise.
In
this scenario, the preflop action has closed withR$19 in the pot. Each of the📉 three
still live players haveR$6 in the pot, plus the small blind'sR$1.
The Flop
After the
preflop betting round closes, the dealer📉 puts the first three of five community cards
on the board. These three cards are known as the flop, and📉 another betting round
commences after that.
In our example hand, three players are still live. The dealer
burns one card (taking📉 it off the top of the deck and putting it face down), and puts
the next three cards in the📉 deck on the board, face-up.
All betting rounds after the
flop start with the player in the small blind as first📉 to act, if they're still live in
the hand. If the small blind player isn't in the hand, the action📉 starts with the first
live player to the left of the small blind.
This player has the opportunity to check
(put📉 no money in the pot), or bet. After that, the next live player on the left has the
chance to📉 call (match a bet), raise (increase the amount of the bet), or fold. If the
first-to-act player checks, this next📉 player can also check.
In our example game, the
small blind folded and is out of the hand already. The big📉 blind is the next player on
the left that's still in the hand, and acts first.
Let's say the big blind📉 checks. The
cutoff player is the next live player on the left, and this player betsR$10 into
theR$19 pot. The📉 player on the button is next to act, and folds.
The big blind raises
toR$35. The cutoff now has the option📉 to call, puttingR$25 more in the pot to match the
big blind'sR$35 bet. The cutoff can also re-raise, or fold.📉 If the cutoff folds, the
hand is over and the big blind player wins the pot.
In this scenario, suppose the
📉 cutoff calls the raise. TheR$19 pot has increased toR$89, with two players each
puttingR$35 more in the pot in the📉 flop betting round. The cutoff's call would close
the flop betting round.
The Turn
With the flop betting round complete, the dealer📉 burns
another card, then puts a fourth community card on the board. This card is known as the
turn, or📉 "fourth street".
After the turn hits the board, the community cards in our
example hand look like this:
The big blind is📉 first to act again, and betsR$50 into
theR$79 pot. The cutoff player calls, making the potR$179. The cutoff's call closes📉 the
turn betting round.
The River
The dealer burns one more card, and puts the fifth and
final community card on the📉 board. This card is known as the river, or "fifth
street".
The river hits the board in our example game, and📉 the five community cards
look like this:
The big blind checks, and the cutoff decides to check back, keeping the
pot📉 atR$179. The two players then go to the showdown, and it's time to reveal the hands
and see who has📉 the winner. The last player who made an aggressive move (either a bet
or raise) in the hand generally shows📉 their cards first.
In this case it's the big
blind, who turns over his hole cards:
The big blind has a flush,📉 using their 5♥4♥ to
make a five-card hand of J♥6♥5♥4♥2♥.
The cutoff player doesn't have to show their cards
in this📉 scenario, and has the option of just surrendering the pot without revealing
their hole cards. In this example, however, the📉 cutoff does turn over their hand,
revealing:
The cutoff has a three-of-a-kind jacks, using their J♠J♣ to make a five-card
hand📉 of J♠J♣J♥6♥5♣. Note that even though the cutoff can't use one of his fours to make
a straight with the📉 6-5-3-2 on the board, as you must use exactly two hole cards and
three community cards in Omaha.
The big blind📉 player wins the hand with the flush, and
collects the pot. The blinds and button all shift one player to📉 the left, and the next
hand begins.
Here is another example of a showdown in Pot Limit Omaha poker:
Learn
about Pot📉 Limit Omaha strategy here.
