Omaha Poker
Playing online poker wasn’t a dream I had, it just sort of happened and I was hooked. You see, I’ve always liked to play Omaha poker, especially Omaha Hi/Low poker. That’s always been my thing. I like taking risks and poker is the perfect game for a risk taker like myself.
“Life, like poker has an element of risk. It shouldn't be avoided. It should be faced.” Edward Norton
Allow me to tell you a little about my obsession with this particular Omaha Poker variant.
Luckily for me, my online sportsbook of choice offers the chance to enjoy this game online. youwager.lv has never disappointed me.
In Omaha Hi/Lo there are times when huge pots are generated and it’s not uncommon for a player to win both ways in a single hand. This notion was incredibly appealing to me when I first started playing.
How is Omaha Hi/Lo poker played?
Each player in any type of Omaha game is dealt four private cards (‘hole cards’) that belong only to that player. Five community cards are then dealt face-down on the ‘board’. All players use exactly two cards from their four hole cards in conjunction with exactly three cards from the board to make the best five-card poker hand possible.
In my favorite type of Omaha poker game, Hi/Lo, the pot is divided between the best hand for high and the best hand for low - hence the name, Omaha Hi/Lo.
The beauty about this particular game is that you may use different combinations of two cards from your hand to make your high hand and your low hand, but in each hand you must use precisely two from your hand and three from the board - no more, no less.
After the first round of betting is complete, the ‘flop’ is dealt face-up on the board. The flop is the first three community cards available to all active players. A new round of betting ensures after the flop.
When betting action is completed for the flop round, the ‘turn’ is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in an Omaha Hi/Lo game. Again a new round of betting ensures.
When betting action is completed for the turn round, the ‘river’ is dealt face-up on the board. The river is the fifth and final community card in an Omaha Hi/Lo game. If there is more than one remaining player when the final betting round is complete, the last person to bet or raise shows their cards.
The player with the best five-card hand for high wins half the pot, and the player with the best five-card hand for low wins the other half.
Keep in mind that, in all Omaha poker games, players must use two (and only two) of their four hole cards in combination with exactly three cards from the board. In the event of identical hands, the high and low shares of the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands.
The amount for betting in Omaha depends upon the players. There is: no limit betting, pot limit betting and fixed limit Omaha. In no limit Omaha a player can bet any amount up to all of their chips.
In pot limit Omaha a player can bet what is in the pot (i.e. $100 into a $100 pot). This is the most popular form of Omaha Poker.
In fixed limit Omaha there is a specific betting limit applied in each game and on each round of betting.
My Personal Experience with Omaha Hi/Lo Poker
In the “friendly” Omaha Hi/Lo poker games I usually partake in, we play with a set amount of maximum and minimum bets. We also turn the community cards over one at a time instead of using a flop. This generates five rounds of betting with three raises per round.
As our maximum bet is generally a dollar and the minimum bet a quarter the extra betting allows the pot to build up quickly. We also played where you had to declare high or low or both ways with chips at the end of the hand to keep someone from backing into a winning hand.
Years ago while playing our “friendly game” the following hand was played
In my down cards I had a pair of aces, a 2 and a 4. The guy to my immediate right opened with a dollar bet. There was a maximum raise across the table and I raised the maximum also. The guy to my right also raised the last raise. This looked like a good one! The 1st community was an ace. I now had three aces. The guy across the table made the maximum bet, I raised and the guy next to me also raised. What did these guys have? The 2nd community card was a 3. Whoa!! I now had 4 cards to a low hand and the three aces. I bet the maximum and the guy to my right just called. I figured the 3 didn’t help him and that he was going high. The guy across the table raised the maximum, as did I. The guy to my right raised the minimum to kill the raises. The 3rd community card was a King. The guy to my right immediately bet the maximum. The guy across the table just called, but I raised and so did the guy next to me. The 4th community card was the last Ace. I now had 4 aces. There was no made low hand yet but I had the nuts for high. The guy across the table checked (he was going low for sure). I bet the maximum, the guy to my right raised (he sure liked the king) the guy across the table raised the minimum and I took the last raise for the maximum. The 5th and last community card was a 5. I now had the nuts both high and low. Everyone bet the maximum except the guy across the table (this I loved). I later saw he had counterfeited on the 5 and now had to go with a 6 low. We declared with chips and I went both ways. At this point I was only worried about the low hand. When I saw the other player had a 6 I was in heaven. The guy to my right had a full boat (Kings full of Aces). When he saw my two aces in the hole he literally wept with frustration. Those are the hands you hope for and almost never see. Omaha high/low can do that for you and so much more. I encourage you to give this wonderful game a try! You wont regret it one bit.
Let’s take closer loot at the rules of Omaha Poker:
As you probably know by now, Omaha is almost identical to Hold’em Poker. However, Omaha offers a greater chance of creating bigger hands and exciting variations, such as my beloved Hi/Lo games.
Let’s take a look at the 12 most important rules in an Omaha Poker game:
- 1. Blinds Two (2) players left of the dealer button both post blinds equal to exactly half the limit they are playing. These are similar to the blinds in Hold'em.
- 2. Dealer Button. This button is used to determine where the action starts, once the game begins this buttons moves one person to the right (clockwise) for every new deal.
- 3. Dealer deals each player four (4) cards face down (Pocket or Hole Cards).
- 4. The player to the left of the dealer now begins the betting for this round. Each player has the option to Call the blinds, Raise the blinds or Fold.
- 5. After the first round of betting the Flop is dealt. The Flop is three (3) community cards for which all players may combine to make their best possible hand.
- 6. Following the Flop, the player to the left of the button may now begin the second round of betting.
- 7. Dealer turns over 1 more community card (the turn).
- 8. Following the Turn, the third round of betting begins.
- 9. Dealer turns over 1 last community card (the river).
- 10. At this point there will be 5 community cards of which you will make your best 5-card poker hand. You must make the best hand using the combination of 2 of your 4 pocket cards and 3 of the 5 community cards.
- 11. Following the river card, the final round of betting will begin, this is the players' last chance to bet before the cards are revealed and a winner is determined, this is known as the showdown.
- 12. Showdown. The Showdown is where players reveal their hands to produce the winner. The winner is determined by who has the best hand with the combination of 2 pocket cards and 3 community cards. Player must us only two (2) hole cards and three (3) common cards.
Betting Rules
- Each bet and raise during the first 2 rounds is at the lower limit of the stakes structure. For example, $4 in a $4/$8 game.
- Each bet and raise during the last 2 rounds is at the higher limit of the stakes structure. For example, $8 in a $4/$8 game.
- You can bet up to 4 times per round. This is known as a bet and Three (3) Raises. This would consist of (1) a bet, (2) a raise, (3) a re-raise, and (4) a cap. It's called a cap since betting is then capped and cannot be raised anymore. Once the pot is capped, players can only call the Cap or fold.
- Check-raising is allowed in all games.
Button and Blinds
Omaha Hi and Omaha Hi/Lo use a button to indicate the theoretical dealer of each hand. After each hand, the button moves clockwise to the next active player. The player to the left of the button is first to receive a card and must post a small blind.
The small blind is half the lower limit bet, rounded down to the nearest dollar.
The player to the left of the small blind must post the big blind, equal to the lower limit bet. Example: in a $4-$8 game the blinds would be Small Blind $2.00 and Big Blind $4.00. This replaces the antes in 7-card stud. Both blinds are immediately in the hand and have options when in clockwise progression the action returns to them. For the Small Blind those options are to call the remainder of any bets made, or to raise if there are still raises remaining (not yet capped).
For the Big Blind those options are to check if no one has raised, to call if someone has raised or to raise if there are still raises remaining (not yet capped). After the flop and each subsequent betting round, the first active player left of the button is first to act.
When a player first sits at an active table, they may post the equivalent of the big blind. To play immediately all players may sit out and wait to become the actual big blind before playing.
This rule ensures fairness to all players and stops potential abuses by preventing players from constantly entering games in late position and then leaving before they're required to post the big blind.
Poker Hand Rankings
Rankings follow in descending order.
*If multiple hands match in rank, the winner is the one with higher cards, e.g., a Queen-high straight beats a 9-high straight.
*If the hands are still tied, the kicker determines the winner on hands that are 3 of a kind or below. If the hands remain tied, the pot is split between the winners. Any odd chips go to the left of the button.
- 1. Royal Flush
- 2. Straight Flush
- 3. 4-of-a-Kind
- 4. Full House
- 5. Flush
- 6. Straight
- 7. 3-of-a-Kind
- 8. 2 Pair
- 9. 1 pair
- 10. High Card
All-Ins
youwager.lv poker games are played at "Table Stakes".
What does this mean to you?
Well, actually it means that only the chip value you have in front of you at the start of a given hand can be used in that hand. You can increase your "table stake" at any time in between hands; however you can’t do this during a hand.
Sometimes during the course of a hand the betting will exceed your "stake" and you may not have enough to call a particular bet. You don’t have to forfeit your hand at this point. If you want to continue playing the hand, you can call the amount that you have in front of you and you will be declared "ALL IN".
Any further action will create a side pot of which you’ll have no claim to. The limit of the number of side pots is only limited to the number of players in a particular hand.
You’ll have claim to the portion of the pot that you have contributed to.
Buy-Ins
The Minimum Buy-in requirement for all games is 10 times the Small Blind/Bet in the Game.
I guess that about sums it up. Playing online Omaha Poker has been a great experience for me and I can assure you that it can and will be for you, too. Take your time to understand the game, choose your variant wisely and enjoy your time playing at youwager.lv. You might just become a pro, or at the very least, have a hell of a time trying.