How To Play Omaha

Once you have learnt how to play the classic, Texas Hold’em, players will usually move onto Omaha next due to their similarities.

If you’re new to poker and wanting to learn your next game, you’ve come to the right place, with all the information you need to know about the game.

Or maybe you are wanting to refresh your brain on the game, you’re still in the right place!

Types of betting

There are different ways of betting in Omaha, including:

Pot limit Omaha - the maximum amount that can be bet is the total some of the pot

Fixed Limit - the pot can only be raised four times

No Limit - players can bet as many times as they want and at any betting point of the no limit game

The deal

Instead of getting two hole cards like Texas Hold’em, you will receive four cards in Omaha, but can only use two of them along with three of the five community cards for your final hand.

Similarly to Hold’em, Omaha has five stages of play for each hand:

The pre-flop: you are given your four hole cards and a round of betting takes place

The flop: the first three community cards are placed down face up and another round of betting takes place

The turn: another community card is placed and another round of betting will commence

The river: the final community card is placed and the last round of betting ensues

The showdown: the players still in the hand must reveal their cards

Of course, there is more to it than that, so we will now go into some detail about each.

Preflop

The game will begin with the Big Blind (BB) and Small Blind (SB) placing their bets, these will be the two players to the left of the dealer or dealer button.

Each player is dealt four cards from the dealer, and then betting will begin, starting with the player on the left of the big blind. This round is known as a live bet and will continue clockwise.

The players can proceed with the following options:

Call: Make an equal bet to the size of the big blind - or the highest bet placed before them

Bet or Raise: the player can increase the bet, making it more expensive for the next player to stay in the game.

Fold: you can leave the hand by giving your cards back to the dealer

The flop

Three community cards will be placed face up on the board.

Another round of betting will begin, the players have the same options as before.

The turn

The dealer will place another card, face up.

This will follow with another round of player bets.

The River

The final community card will be placed on the table and another round of betting will take place.

The showdown will take place if there are two or more players remaining in the hand. If most players have folded, the hand goes to the last player standing.

The showdown

At this stage, the remaining players will turn their two chosen private cards to use with three of the community cards.

The player that has the highest hand wins the pot!

Types of hands

The hands in Omaha are similar to Texas Hold’em, the aim is to get the high hand. However, they may have more value hence why it is a popular poker game for high stakes players.

Royal flush - The royal flush is the best possible hand in Texas Hold em poker. It consists of five consecutive cards, 10 through to Ace and all of the same suit. Regardless of anyone else's hand, a player with a royal flush will always be winning the pot.
Straight flush - These can be any five consecutive cards of the same suit. This hand can only be beaten by a higher straight flush or a royal flush.
Four of a kind - This hand is the same card in all four suits. The fifth card of this hand will be the highest value card in the community cards or the player's hole cards.
Full house - This hand consists of one three of a kind and one pair, joined together to make a five-card hand called a full-house. Therefore the player must have three identical cards in different suits and two identical cards in different suits. If there are two full houses, the winning hand will have the highest value 'three of a kind'.
Flush - Any five cards of the same suit, in no particular order. When two players both have flushes, the hand that contains the highest valued card is the winning poker hand.
Straight - Five consecutive cards in terms of numerical value, but not all of the same suit.
Three of a kind - Three of the same value card, in three different suits. The next two highest cards available in the community cards or the player's hole cards will contribute to the hand.
Two pairs - Two sets of two cards with matching values. The highest value cards remaining will complete the five card hand.
Pair - A singular pair of cards with the same value.
High card - The worst hand on the table - simply the highest card in your hand.