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Omaha may resemble Texas Hold'em in the fact
that it is a game played with five community cards
but the game is quite different. There are two variations
of the game, Omaha High only and Omaha Hi/Lo split.
It can be played with the betting being a structured
Limit game or you can find No Limit and Pot Limit
games. I will use the Limit Omaha High game in the
explanation about how to play.
The rules of the game are fairly easy to learn.
Limit Hold'em has structured betting, and the lowest
limit you will usually find in most casinos is a
$2/$4. Other limits you may find are 5/10 or 10/20
or higher. I will be using the 32/4 game as an example
in this book. That means the minimum bet is three
dollars during the first two rounds of betting and
the minimum bet is six dollars during the last two
betting rounds. These same limits are used when
you raise as well.
The Dealer
Since the casino supplies a dealer one player
must be the designated dealer who will act last
during the betting rounds. A disk or "Button" is
used to identify the dealer and this is rotated
to the left after each hand. Unlike stud, all the
players do not ante each round. Blind bets are posted
to generate a starting pot just the way that they
are in Texas Hold'em.
The Start
To start a new hand two "Blind" bets are put
up or "Posted." The player immediately to the left
of the player with the dealer button puts up or
"posts" the small blind which is approximately half
the minimum bet. The small blind for the $2/4 game
is one dollar. The player to the left of the small
blind posts the big blind which is equal to the
minimum bet which is two dollars for this game.
The rest of the players do not put up any money
to start the hand. Because the button rotates around
the table, each player will eventually act as the
big blind, small blind and dealer. It will cost
you three dollars every time the deal makes a complete
rotation around the table.
The Opening
After the blinds are posted each player is dealt
four cards face down with the player on the small
blind receiving the first card and the player with
the dealer button getting the last card. The first
betting round begins with the player to the left
of the big blind either putting in two dollars to
"Call" the blind bet, or putting in four dollars
to "raise" the big blind or folding his hand. The
betting goes around the table in order until it
reaches the player who posted the small blind. That
player can call the bet by putting in one dollar
since a dollar bet was already posted. The last
person to act is the big blind. If no one has raised,
the dealer will ask if they would like the option.
This means the big blind has the option to raise
or just "check."
The Flop
After the first betting round is completed the
dealer will "burn" or discard the top card on the
deck. This is done to make sure no one could have
accidentally seen the top card. Three cards are
dealt and turned face up in the middle of the table.
This is known as the "Flop." These are community
cards used by all the players. Another betting round
begins with the first active player to the left
of the dealer button. The minimum bet for this round
is also three dollars.
The Turn
When the betting round after the flop is completed,
the dealer burns another card and turns a fourth
card face up in the middle of the table. This is
referred to as the "Turn." The minimum bet after
the turn is now four dollars and begins again with
the first active player to the left of the button.
The River
Following the betting round for the turn, the
dealer will burn another card and turn a fifth and
final card face up. This is called the "river,"
and the final betting round begins with four dollars
being the minimum bet. There is usually a three
or four raise maximum during all betting rounds
except if the play becomes heads up with two players.
Then the raises are unlimited.
The Showdown
To determine the winner, the players MUST use
two of his hole cards and three cards from the "Board"
to form the highest five-card hand. In some rare
cases the best hand will be the five cards on board.
In that case the active players will split the pot.
A sixth card is never used to break a tie.
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