OMAHA HIGH!

Omaha High (Omaha) is very similar to Hold'em, but has a greater variety of possibilities thereby making for some extremely exciting games.

Omaha is a community card game. Omaha is played the same as Hold'em with the following two exceptions:

1. Each player receives four face-down cards (pocket cards) to start.
   
2. At the showdown each player must use exactly two of their four pocket cards and combine them with exactly three boardcards.
   

General rules & sequence of action for Omaha

1. The dealer deals each player their own four cards face-down (pocket cards)
   
2. First betting round
   
3. The dealer turns over three community boardcards (the flop) face-up
   
4. Second betting round
   
5. The dealer turns over 1 more community boardcard (the turn)
   
6. Third betting round
   
7. The dealer turns over 1 final community boardcard (the river)
   
8. Final betting round
   

At the showdown players MUST use exactly two of their pocket cards and three boardcards.

Betting Structure for Omaha (same as Hold'em)

As you can see from the description of action above, there are four betting rounds in a complete game of Omaha.

Each bet and raise during the first two rounds of betting is set at the lower limit of the stakes structure. For example in a $5/$10 game, all bets and raises are $5 for the first two rounds (after pocket cards are dealt and after the flop).

Each bet and raise during the last two rounds of betting is set at the higher limit of the stakes structure. For example in a $5/$10 game, all bets and raises are $10 for the last two rounds (after the turn and after the river).

The maximum allowable number of bets per player during any particular betting round is four. This would consist of (1) a bet, (2) a raise, (3) a re-raise, and (4) a cap. The term cap is used to describe the 3rd raise in a round since betting is then capped and can not be raised anymore. Once the pot is capped, players will have only the option of calling or folding. Note that there is no cap to the number of raises in No Limit and Pot Limit games.

Button and Blinds (same as Hold'em)

After each hand has been completed, the button moves clockwise to the next active player and this player will be considered to be the button for that game. The player to the left of the button is first to receive a card and is required to post a small blind. The small blind is equal to half the lower limit bet rounded up to the nearest dollar. The player to the left of the small blind is required to post the big blind. The big blind is equal to the lower limit bet.

Both the small and the big blinds are considered live bets and therefore have the option of checking, calling, raising or folding when the betting action comes back around to their position. After the flop and after each subsequent betting round, the first active player left of the button is first to act.

When a player first sits down at an active table, they will be required to post the equivalent of the big blind. All players have the option of sitting out and waiting to become the actual big blind before starting to play. This rule is in place to ensure fairness to all players. The rule stops potential abuses to the system by preventing players who may otherwise constantly enter games in late position and then leave before they are required to post a big blind.