Omaha poker might be similar to Texas Hold’em poker because the game is played using 5 community cards but both these games are somewhat different. Omaha poker is of 2 variations namely, Omaha Hi/Lo split and Omaha High. It could be played with betting based on Pot limit or without any limits or as a structured Limit game. This article shall explain about how to play Omaha poker with the help of Limit Omaha high game.
The game rules are simple to learn. In Limit hold’em poker the betting is structured and usually the lowest limit is 2 or 4 dollars in many casinos. The other limits could be 5/10 dollars or 10/20 dollars or higher than that. This example is explained considering 2/4 dollars as the lowest limit which indicates that lowest bet is 3$ during first 2 betting rounds. The same limits could be used when you rise as well.
The Dealer
Since casino does not provide a dealer any one of the players should act last in the betting rounds and is considered as the designated dealer. The dealer is identified with a “button” or disk and after every hand this is moved to left side. Unlike stud poker, all players will not place their stake to the pot in each round. Blind bets are made for generating the initial pot similar to the manner of Texas hold’em poker.
Starting of Omaha Poker
For starting a new hand, 2 “blind” bets will be posted or put up. The player present in the immediate next position to a player having a dealer button will post or put up the small blind that is roughly half the value of minimum bet. The small blind for game of 2/4 dollar minimum bet is one dollar. Another player who sits next to left of the player who posted the small blind will put the big blind that is of same value as minimum bet, which is 3 dollars for this game. The remaining players will not put up any money for starting the hand. Since the dealer button is moved around the table, every player shall finally act as a big blind, dealer and small blind. It will cost 3$ every time the dealer button makes full rotation around the poker table.
Game Opening:
After posting the blinds, every player is dealt 4 cards face down with small blind players getting the 1 st card and player with dealer button receiving the last card. The 1 st betting round starts with a player sitting left to the big blind who will put either 2$ in order to “call” blind bet or put 4$ in order to “raise” big blind or might choose to fold his hand. This betting will move around the poker table in sequence till the chances come to the player who has made the post for small blind. This player shall choose to call the bet with one dollar since 1$ bet was posted already. The big blind is the last person to act and if no player has raised, dealer would ask everyone if they are interested in the option which means big blind could either “check” or “rise”.
The Flop
The cards which are dealt are then reversed with face up in the center of the table which is called as “Flop”. These cards are used by all players and referred to as community cards. The next betting round commences with 1 st active player who sits to left of the dealer button. 3$ is the minimum bet for this round.
The Turn
When bet round after the flop is finished, the dealer will burn another card and turn a 4 th card face up in the center of the table called as “Turn”. 6$ is minimum bet after this and betting starts again with 1 st active player sitting left to the dealer button.
The River
After the finish of “The Turn” betting round, dealer shall burn another card and turn the last card face up, which is called “River” and 6$ is minimum bet for this final betting round. The raise is usually 3$ or 4$ for all betting rounds other than the case if play turns heads up with 2 players and there are unlimited raises after that.
The Showdown
In order to identify the winner, players should use 2 of his hold cards and 3 cards from “Board” to make the highest-five-card hand. In Omaha Hi/Lo there are many situations where two players could tie and it happens sometimes with Omaha high also. In such cases, the pot will be split among those players, and a 6 th card will never be used for breaking the tie.