Omaha Hi Poker Rules

Omaha Hi is a community card-based game. Each player is dealt 4 cards face-down (hole cards), subsequently followed by 5 community cards dealt face-up. The 5 community cards are used by every active player. The objective of Omaha Hi is to produce the best 5 card hand using exactly 2 Hole cards and 3 community cards. Omaha Hi is similar to Texas Hold'em with 2 exceptions: 1) each player is dealt 4 hole cards instead of 2; and 2) each player makes their final hand from2 of the 4 hole cards and 3 of the 5 community cards.

Omaha Hi is played with a dealer button to mark who the dealer is during any given game. This button rotates clockwise around the table after every hand. Since the dealer is the last to act, it is important to be the dealer, who as the greatest advantage for that hand.

Forced Bets

On occassion, Omaha Hi has an ante in which every player places a pre-determined amount of money into the pot at the beginning of each hand. Ante can be, but is not limited to, 1/10th of the low limit bet size. This ante does not have anything to do with or contribute toward any subsequent bets.

Omaha Hi rules stipulate that there must be 2 forced bets every hand, which are called blinds. There is a "small blind", which equates to 1/2 of the low limit bet size, and there is a "big blind", which equates to the low limit bet size. Before a given hand commences, the participant to the immediate left of the dealer button is must place the small blind, and the poker player to the left of that person must place the big blind. It is important to note that these 2 "blind" bets contribute towards that player's 1st round bet, and are considered to be live bets, which means the player may elect to raise, even if no other player has.

Betting Rounds

Similar to Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi has 4 rounds of betting. In a fixed limit Omaha Hi game, all bets must be equate to the size of the low limit bet, in the 1st 2 rounds of betting. In the last 2 rounds of betting, bets must equate to the high limit bet. For example, your $ 5 / $ 10 Omaha Hi, all bets in the 1st 2 rounds are in increments of $ 5, and all the bets in the latter 2 rounds are in increments of $ 10. Additionally, a maximum of 3 raises per betting round are permitted.

• Pre-flop Betting Round - The participant to the immediate left of the dealer button posts the small blind. The participant to the left of him, places the big blind. 4 cards are dealt to every player face down, starting with the small blind. The game commences with the poker player to the immediate left of the big blind, who decides to either fold, call (by placing the low limit bet), or raise (by placing in double the low limit bet). The game continues clockwise around the table. The small blind participant may call (assuming no player has raised to that point) by adding the other 1/2 of the low limit bet that he placed initially. The big blind participant can simply check (assuming no player has raised to that point), since hes already wagered the full size of the 1st round bet, with the big blind.

• Flop Betting Round - Next, 3 community cards are dealt face-up. In this round and the subsequent 2 rounds, the participant to the immediate left of the dealer is the first to perform an action. Game play continues in a clockwise fashion around the table. In this round, all bets and raises must be equate to the low limit bet size.

• Turn Betting Round - Next, a 4th community card is dealt face-up. Game play continues similarly to the previous round, with the exception that all bets and raises must equate to the high limit bet size.

• River Betting Round - Next, a 5th communitycard is dealt face-up. Game play proceeds similarly to the previous round. Again, similar to the prior round, all bets and raises must equate to the high limit bet size.

• Showdown Round - Any active player has the option of showing or mucking their hand. The person who bet last is the first to show their hand, and this revealing of the cards proceeds clockwise from that point, with each active player choosing to show their hand, or muck it. Why muck a hand, you might ask ? Many times a player will muck a hand if they believe that they are not going to win the pot, and they do not want the other players opponents to see what they played (this might reveal a bluffing strategy, for example). In any event, the highest revealed hand made from a player's best 2 hole cards and best 3 community cards, wins the pot.