Omaha High

The object of Omaha High is to create the best five-card hand using exactly two out of four pocket cards and three out of five community cards.

Before the deal:

• Players will buy-in for the posted amount.
• Selected players will post blinds.

The dealer button:

The dealer in Omaha High will start to deal each game to the player who has the button. The button is a graphical representation (“D”) of which player is the dealer. Although our dealer will be dealing the game, the player who has the button placed in front of his seat gets to play his cards as if he were the actual dealer. When the cards are dealt to players, they are dealt in a manner as if the player was actually dealing in a live environment.

Blinds:

Because there is a player “on the button” two players will be asked to post the Big or Small Blinds. The blinds serve a purpose similar to antes, in that they put forced money into the pot that gives players an incentive to enter the hand. However, only two players will post (or put up) the blinds.

The first blind is called the “Small Blind.” This bet is usually half the minimum bet of the game.

So, in a €2-4 game the Small Blind will be €1. The second blind is called the “Big Blind” and is always the same size as the game’s minimum bet, e.g., in a 2-4 game, the Big Blind is €2.

[R] The player directly left of the button will have the “Small Blind.” The player directly to the left of the Small Blind will have the “Big Blind” of the full amount of the lowest game limit.

Opening deal:

Now that we have a button and Small and Big Blinds, we are ready to deal. The dealer always deals from the player closest to the dealer’s left. Moving clockwise around the table, the game will “deal-in” each player. The players will be dealt four cards face down. The player seated to the left of the Big Blind will start the opening deal.

Betting on opening deal:

[R] The player seated to the left of the Big Blind will always have the action on the opening deal. This player may not check, but can only fold, call, or raise.

The game will now advance to each player seated asking to fold, call, or raise until we reach the Big Blind for an action decision. If no player has raised by the time the play returns to the Big Blind, the Big Blind has the option to check his own blind wager or raise.

Once all players have completed the first round of wagering, they will proceed to the flop.

Flop:

The next cards to be dealt into the game will be the fifth, sixth and seventh cards in the game. These three cards will not be dealt to each player, but rather placed face up in the centre of the table.

But the players “flop” anything, a card must be burned. The dealer will deal one face down card into the pot. After the burn card, the dealer will deal three cards face up in the centre of the poker table. These three cards are called “community cards” and are available to all players for potential use to make a poker hand. The area in which these cards lie on the table is commonly referred to as the “board.”

This is how the Flop looks:

Now the flop has landed on the board and all players now have seven cards available to make their hand, using the four “hole” cards that were dealt on the opening round and the three “community cards” which all players may use. In Omaha High, a poker hand must consist of exactly two face-down cards and three community cards. The next player who has the action is determined as follows:

[R] After the opening deal, the player who is seated closest to the left of the button shall have the initial action for the remainder of the game. If the player who has the button folds, the button is still active and will remain in front of that player’s seat to keep the position of the button constant throughout that game.

The player who has the action may check or bet. As soon as one player chooses to bet, the other players in the hand can no longer check; they can only fold, call or raise.

The Turn:

The Turn is the fourth card to be dealt onto the board and the eighth card available to the players. It is also called “Fourth Street.” As always, the dealer will burn a card and then deal one card face up onto the board to the right of the last flop card.

This is how the Turn looks:

The 9 of spades is the “turn” card.

At this point the players have access to the four cards on the board and their four hole cards. The game will now declare who has the action, which always begins with the player still remaining in the hand who is closest to the left of the button.

The River:

The dealer will then place the fifth and final card on the board.

The Flop cards become the River.

This is how the River looks: