Omaha Poker

Omaha Poker is a very exciting game that has its origins from Texas Hold'em Poker. In this variation of the card game Poker, each player is dealt four private cards – which are also called hole cards – and they belong to that player. In the next step, like it is in Texas Hold'em Poker, the players are dealt with five 'community cards' which are all placed face-up on the board.

However, in the Omaha games, all players on the table can use an exact number of three community cards along with their own two hole cards to make the best five-card Poker hand. The players must ensure that there is no mistake in the selection of the cards – there should be three from the community and two from their own collection of the hole cards.

There are basically three different kinds of the Omaha Poker game. The first in this list is Pot Limit Omaha Poker, in which a player can bet exactly the amount that is there in the pot. For example, a player can bet INR 500 for a pot that has INR 500. The Pot Limit Omaha Poker is considered to be the best form of Omaha Poker.

The second in this list is No Limit Omaha Poker, which, as its name suggests, enables the players to bet any amount of their linking and up to all of their available chips. The third in this list is the Fixed Limit Omaha Poker, which means there is always a specific betting limit applied in each game and each round of betting.

How to Play Omaha Poker?

While it is clear that the basic rules of the Omaha Poker game are more or less the same, it must be remembered that there are some basic structural differences between its variations. For a better understanding of this, in the two variations named Pot-Limit as well as the No Limit Omaha, the games are defined and referred to by the size of their blinds. An example is that in an INR 1/INR 2 game, the small blind is of INR 1 and the big blind is of INR 2. Once this has been determined, the betting begins from the player who is sitting on the left of the big blind.

In the Fixed Limit Omaha games, the big blind is similar to that of the small bet and similarly, the small blind is about half the size of the big blind. But in some cases, it may be larger depending on the stakes. For example, in an INR 2/INR 4 game, the small blind is of INR 1 and the big blind is of INR 2. In a game of INR 15/INR 30, the small blind is of INR 10 and the big blind is of INR 15.

Each player on the table is now dealt their four hole cards and betting action goes on clockwise around the table. The betting action begins from the player who is sitting immediately left to the big blind. Here is a step-by-step explanation for this:

Pre-Flop

Having checked their hole cards, each player is now enabled to play his or her hand by either calling or raising the big blind. As we know, the action begins with the player sitting immediately left of the big blind, and this player is presented with the option of folding, calling or raising. For example, if the big blind is of INR 2, he or she would have to shell out INR 2 for calling and a minimum of INR 4 to raise. The round of betting will continue till the time all active players – those who have not folded – have placed equal bets in the pot.

The Flop

Post the completion of the first round of betting, the 'flop' is now revealed face-up on the table. The flop is the first of the three community cards that are available to all active players. The play starts immediately with the one sitting on the left of the button and continues clockwise. In the case of Fixed Limit Omaha, the raises take place in increments of the small bet – for example, INR 2 in a game of INR 2/INR 4.

The Turn

Once the betting action has been completed in the flop round, the 'turn' is dealt face-up on the table. The turn here is the fourth of the five community cards and the play now resumes with that active player who is sitting immediately clockwise from the button. In Fixed Limit Omaha, the raises on the turn are in increments of the big bet. For example, this will be INR 2 in an INR 1/ INR 2 game.

The River

When the betting action is concluded for the turn round, the 'river' is dealt face-up on the board. This card is the fifth and the final one from the community cards dealt before the start of the Omaha Poker game. Now begins the final round of betting with the active player who is placed immediately left from the button.

The Showdown

Now, if there is more than one player left to post the conclusion of the final betting round, the last person to have placed his bet or have raised must show their cards. 

It must be remembered that if there was no bet on the final round since in this case, the player who is placed immediately clockwise from the button has to display their cards first. Thus, the player who has the best five-card hand wins the pot and in the event of two players possessing identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between them. 

Once the pot has been awarded, a new Omaha Poker game can be played starting with the player who is seated in the clockwise position.