Key Differences Between Hold Em and Omaha: Omaha has 4 down cards instead of the 2 in Texas. You MUST use 2 down cards in combination with 3 Table Cards to win in Omaha.

The following rules apply to any form of Omaha Em regardless of betting limits and high / low split pots. Depending on the betting limit of the game you are playing there may be caps on the amount you can bet during a specific round. For more on betting caps as well as an explanation on high / low split pots check out our other games section or click on betting variations.

Before the cards are dealt. Before dealing the first hand of the tournament or home game each player is dealt 1 card face up. Depending on whether low card or high card deals was selected either the lowest or highest card will be the dealer (have the dealer button) in front of them for the first hand. Normally it is high card is dealer but this may vary in different areas.

Once a dealer is chosen. The player sitting to the direct left of the dealer will be in the Small Blind. The Small Blind is a forced bet that the player must put into the pot before receiving any cards. The Small Blind puts half of what the current minimum bet is into the pot. Directly left of the Small Blind is the Big Blind. The Big Blind is a forced bet that must be put into the pot before receiving any cards. The Big Blind puts the current minimum bet into the pot. The dealer then deals 4 card face down to every player starting with the Small Blind. Action will start on the player directly left of the Big Blind. They have a decision of whether to play their cards or fold. Action works its way around the table in a clockwise fashion until everyone in turn (do not bet or fold if it is not your turn to act) has called or folded. The first betting round is over when (in an unraised pot) the Big Blind has checked to see a flop or (in a raised pot) everyone to the right of the player who made the raise has called the raise or folded.

The Flop. The dealer places three up cards in the center of the table for everyone to use. It is a good idea to place all three cards up at the same time as opposed to one by one to avoid any players giving away a “tell” on which one or more of the cards have helped their hand. The first person to bet or check on the flop is the person directly to the left of the dealer who still have cards in front of them (if the Small Blind didn’t fold the then the Small Blind is first to act, if the Small Blind did fold the Big Blind is first to act, and so on). The round is over when every player has either called the bet or folded.

The Turn. The dealer places one more up card in the center of the table for everyone to use. The first person to bet is the same person that was first to bet on the Flop.

The River. The dealer places one final up card in the center of the table for everyone to use. The first person to bet is still the same person who was first to bet on the Flop. After everyone has bet each player reveals their hole cards, in order to see who has the best five card hand. If a player has a better hand than you and showed it before it was your turn to show you may throw away your cards without showing them.

The Winner. The winner of the hand is the player with the best hand using only 3 cards in the center of the table used in combination with 2 down cards. There are no other acceptable combinations, 2 down cards plus 3 table cards for the best possible 5 card hand, thats it.

Burning Cards – Depending on where you play / who you are playing with you may burn 1 card before dealing to every player as well as burn 1 card before placing the flop cards, turn card or river card. For the flop cards you will only burn 1 card for the 3 cards, not burn one play one, burn two play two.