Omaha Poker Rules
Where to Play Omaha
Site | Omaha |
Omaha Hi / Lo |
5 Card Omaha |
5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo |
Rating | Bonus |
Ignition Casino |
100% up to $1000
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888 Poker | • Review |
100% up to $600
+ £20 / $88 No Deposit |
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Bet365 Poker | • Review |
100% up to €365
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Americas Cardroom |
100% up to $2000
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Intertops |
200% up to $1,000
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Omaha Rules
Omaha Variants
Omaha is the second popular poker variant. Most internet poker sites will offer Omaha as well as Omaha Hi / Lo, so we’ll discuss both types of omaha poker rules here.
Omaha games are very similar to Holdem with a few key differences. Games online are typically nine or ten handed and use a dealer button to track the position of the blinds in the same way as Holdem. There are also five community cards shared by all players. Betting in Omaha games proceeds the exact same way as in Holdem with four rounds of betting: Pre-flop, Flop, Turn and River.
The critical differences between Omaha and Holdem are that in Omaha you receive four cards instead of two and, at the showdown, you MUST use only two cards from your hand and three cards from the board to create the best five-card hand you can. This is crucial and bears repeating.
You may only use two cards from the four in your hand and three cards from the five on the board to create your five-card hand.
Let’s take a look at some examples of Omaha hands:-
Example 1:
The Flop |
Turn | River | |||||||
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Your Hand |
My Hand |
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Example 2:
The Flop |
Turn | River | |||||||
Your Hand |
My Hand |
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Omaha Hi / Lo Rules
Omaha is also commonly played as a split game called Omaha Hi-Lo, in which there is a standard high hand as well as a low hand. Usually it is played as “eight or better”, which means a low hand must consist of only cards valued eight or lower. Play proceeds exactly the same as Omaha, except for at showdown players may have a high hand, a low hand or both. You may use different combinations of cards to make a high or a low. In some cases the high and the low will be the same hand, the most common case is a low straight, such as an A-5 straight.
Beginner’s Tip: The best hands to play in Omaha Hi-Lo (or any split game) are always ones that have potential to win both the high and the low half of each pot. “Chasing lows” is a good way to lose your chips! Low hands will not always be possible and you can spend a lot of your chips waiting for one to come along. Hands like AA23 “double-suited” are the best kind, because you have a high pair as well as multiple straight, flush and low hand possibilities.
Low hands are read from “the top down” and not from the lowest card. If your five-card low hand is 76543 and mine is 8432A, I would have the better low. To help with this always think of your low hands from highest to lowest card. A 76543 low would be called a “seventy six” low and a 8432A would be called and “eighty four” low. Eighty four is larger than seventy six so, my hand is lower. Straights and flushes do not count against you or matter for the low.
Hi / Lo Example 1:
The Flop |
Turn | River | |||||||
Your Hand |
My Hand |
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Hi / Lo Example 2:
The Flop |
Turn | River | |||||||
Your Hand |
My Hand |
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