Omaha, a fast-paced, exciting poker game closely related to Texas Hold 'em, is played with a standard 52-card deck. In Omaha, each player is dealt four cards face-down (known as the “pocket” or “hole” cards), and then five “community” cards (which are used by all players) are dealt face-up in the middle of the table. Each player uses any two of his four pocket cards in combination with any three of the five community cards to make the best possible 5-card hand. Omaha is often played in its high/low split version, in which the low hand (if any) takes half the pot. The version of the game described here, however, is Omaha “high,” in which only the high hand wins the pot. Omaha is played in limit or pot-limit form.

In Omaha, the dealer button indicates the position of the theoretical “dealer” of each hand. After each hand, it moves clockwise by one position. The player with the dealer button is referred to as being “on the button,” and is the last to act in all three betting rounds after the flop. The player to the immediate left of the dealer posts the “small blind” (see below), is the first to be dealt cards, and is the first to act in all three betting rounds after the flop.

The “blinds” are mandatory bets posted by the two players to the immediate left of the dealer at the start of each hand, prior to the cards being dealt. The player directly to the left of the dealer posts the “small” blind, and the player directly to the left of the small blind posts the “big” blind. The big blind is generally twice the small blind. In Omaha cash games, the big blind is equal to the smallest allowable bet, and the small blind is equal to half the smallest allowable bet. When entering a cash game, you must post the equivalent of the big blind in your first hand. You have the option of waiting to enter the game until you are actually in the big blind.

There are four rounds of betting in Omaha:

• After the hole cards are dealt, the first round of betting occurs.
• This is followed by the “flop,” in which the first three community cards are dealt; the second round of betting then occurs.
• Following the second round of betting is the “turn” (or “fourth street”), in which the fourth community card is dealt; the third round of betting then occurs.
• Following the third round of betting is the “river” (or “fifth street”), in which the fifth and final community card is dealt; the fourth and final round of betting then occurs.
  

In pot-limit Omaha, players may bet up to the total amount currently in the pot in any round of betting. In limit Omaha, bets and raises can only be made in prescribed amounts, which escalate as the game progresses. In the cash-game version of Omaha, the bet limit in the first and second rounds is set at the low limit of the table’s stakes structure, and the bet limit in the final two rounds is set at the high limit of the structure. For example, if the stakes structure at a table is $5/$10, the bets and raises would be set at $5 for the first two rounds and $10 for the final two rounds. In each round of betting in limit and cash games, a bet and up to three raises are allowed. After the third raise, the baaetting is said to be “capped,” and no more raises are allowed.

In any round of betting, if only one player remains because all other players have folded, the remaining player wins the hand. However, in cases in which two or more players are still in the hand after the fourth and final round of betting, the hand goes to a “showdown.” In a showdown, all remaining players reveal their hands, beginning with the last player to bet or raise during the final round of betting. If all players checked during the final round of betting (no bets were made), the first player to the left of the dealer will show first. The remaining players' hands will be automatically revealed moving clockwise, unless a hand is weaker than the winning hand shown. In this case, the player has the option of showing or mucking (folding without showing) his cards. The player with the highest-ranking five-card hand, made up of two of his four hole cards and three of the five community cards, wins the pot. For a complete list of hand rankings, click here. In any case in which two or more players have the same winning hand, the pot is divided evenly between those players.