Omaha High Guide
The object of Omaha High is to create the best five-card hand using exactly two out of four pocket cards and three out of five community cards.
Before the Deal
* Selected players will post blinds.
The dealer in Omaha High will start to deal each game contingent onwhich player has the “button.” The button is a graphical representation (“D”) of which player is the “dealer.” Although our dealer will be dealing the game, the player who has the button placed in front of his seat gets to play his cards as if he were the actual dealer. When the cards are dealt to players, they are dealt in a manner as if the player was actually dealing in a live environment.
Because we have a player “on the button” we now ask two players to “post the big or small blinds please.” The blinds serve a purpose similar to antes, in that they put forced money into the pot that gives players an incentive to enter the hand. However, only two players will “post” or “put up” the blinds.
Now that we have a Button and small and big blinds, we are ready to deal. The dealer always deals from the player closest to the dealer’s left. Moving clockwise around the table, the game will “deal-in” each player. The players will be dealt four cards face down. A round of betting will occur starting with the player seated to the left of the big blind.
The player seated to the left of the big blind will always have the action on the opening deal. This player may not check, but rather can only fold, call, or raise.
The next cards to be dealt into the game will be the fifth, sixth and seventh cards in the game. These three cards will not be dealt to each player, but rather placed face up in the center of the table.
Now the flop has landed on the “board” and all players now have seven cards available to make their hand, the four “hole” cards that were dealt on the opening round and now three “community cards” which all players may use. In Omaha High, a poker hand must consist of exactly two face down cards and three community cards. The rule of the determination of the action is as follows.
The “turn” is the fourth card to be dealt onto the board and the eighth card available to the player. Some players call this “fourth street.” However, the most common term used for this round is the “turn”. As always, the dealer will burn a card and then deal one card face up onto the board to the right of the last flop card.
The 9 of spades is the “turn card” At this point the players have access to the four cards on the board and their four hole cards. The game will now declare who has the action, which always begins with the player still remaining in the hand who is closest to the left of the button.
The dealer will then place the fifth and final card on the board. The Flop Cards turn River
At this point, five cards are on the board and four hole cards are inthe players’ hands. The action again starts with the first player still remaining in the hand who is closest to the left of the button. All checks, bets, raises, and folds will be completed and then a showdown will begin.
In our poker room, as with all, “cards speak.” That means our dealer will automatically find the best five-card hand using three out of the five community cards on the board and two out of the four pocket cards in the player’s hand. The winner will be decided based on the universal poker hand rankings.
