Omaha
Omaha poker is an
exciting game derived from
Texas Hold'em. Each player
is dealt four cards which
belong only to that poker
player. Five community cards
are dealt face-up on the
"board". All players use
three of the five community
cards together with two of
their hole cards to make the
best five-card poker hand.
The variations of Omaha High
at BetOnUSA.com Poker Room
are defined by their betting
limits:
Types of online poker
rooms offer by BetOnUSA.com
Poker Room:
Limit Omaha High (there
is a specified betting limit
in each game and on each
round of betting)
Pot Limit Omaha High (a
player can bet what is in
the pot)
No Limit Omaha High (a
player can bet all of their
chips at any time)
Basic Play
- Blind Bets
- Deal - each player
is dealt 4 cards
- First betting round
- The Flop - the first
three community cards
are dealt
- Second betting round
- The Turn - the
fourth community card is
dealt
- Third betting round
- The River - the
final community card is
dealt
- Final betting round
- Showdown
The Dealer Button
Omaha High Poker uses a
small disc called the
"dealer button" to indicate
the dealer of each hand. At
a new table, the first
player seated will get the
dealer button. Once a hand
is completed, the dealer
button then moves clockwise
to the next player. This
ensures that each player has
the chance of playing early
or late and that every
player gets a chance to post
the "blind bets".
During Single Table
Tournaments the first player
to get the dealer button is
determined through a high
card draw (each player is
dealt one card; the player
with the highest value card
goes first. If two or more
players have the same value
card then they are ranked
according to suit - high to
low - spades, hearts,
diamonds, clubs).
The Blind Bets
The player to the left of
the dealer button is
required to place the "small
blind" (usually equal to
half the lower stake) and
the next player to the left
is required to place the
"big blind" (equal to the
lower stake limit). Once the
blind bets have been made,
the cards are dealt and the
next player to the left
starts the first betting
round.
Both the small and the
big blinds are considered
live bets and therefore the
player has 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 sits down
at an active table, they
will be required to post the
equivalent of the big blind.
Also, to prevent "blinds"
abuse, players are required
to post the small blind and
the big blind upon re-entry
(returning from sitting out)
to the game if both blinds
are missed (only the big
blind amount is posted as a
live bet and the remainder
is added directly to the
pot). All players have the
option of sitting out and
waiting for the button to
rotate to their position
before starting to play.
The mandatory posting of
the blind is in place to
ensure fairness to all
players; preventing players
from constantly switching
seats to gain a positional
advantage, or from entering
games in a late position and
then leaving before they are
required to post the big
blind.
First Betting Round
The player immediately
clockwise the big blind,
start with the first betting
round he have the option to
bet, raise or fold. All
remaining players can then
call, raise or fold. To
"call" means to bet the same
as the previous player. If
the first player folds, then
the next player will have
the option to bet while the
remaining players can call.
The bets in the first
betting round are set at the
lower limit of the stakes
structure, so in a $10/$20
game the value of a bet is
$10 while the raise is $20
(a raise includes a call of
the previous bet plus an
additional bet).
Second Betting Round
When betting action is
completed for the flop
round, the "turn" is dealt
face-up on the board. The
turn is the fourth community
card in an Omaha game. Play
begins with the active
player immediately clockwise
the button. On this round of
Omaha, betting doubles from
the small bet to the big
bet.
Third Betting Round
The third betting round
starts after the Turn (when
the fourth community card
has been dealt).
The river is the fifth
and final community card in
Omaha poker. Betting begins
with the active player
immediately clockwise the
button.
Final Betting Round
The final betting round
happens after the River card
(the final community card)
has been dealt.
The player to the left of
the dealer button can bet,
check, raise or fold. Bets
and raises are limited to
the upper limit of the
stakes structure.
The Showdown
In Omaha poker, players
must use two and only two of
their four whole poker cards
in combination with three of
the cards from the board. If
two or more players have the
same hand then the pot is
split equally between them.
Betting Exceptions
Limit Omaha High:
Maximum of four bets are
allowed per player in a
betting round - (1) bet, (2)
raise, (3) re-raise and (4)
cap.
No Limit and Pot
Limit Omaha High:
The number of times a player
can raise is not limited.
However, a player can not
raise themselves (if a
player raises and then all
the remaining players call
or fold, then the player who
raised would not get an
option to raise because they
were the last to raise).
A player is declared
All-In if they do not have
enough chips to call. This
player is eligible for the
portion of the pot to the
point of their final bet.
All further bets by other
players go to a "side pot"
which any All-In players are
excluded from.
