Brief Summary of Omaha Rules

Summary of Omaha Rules

Omaha Poker Games is generally played as follows: Each player is dealt four down cards (concealed). These four cards constitute the entire private Omaha hand (there are no more down cards). Each player’s entire Play poker hand consists of nine cards — the four down (private) cards plus five common “board” cards (dealt face up in the center of the table). All players use the same five common board (up) cards. If two or more players remain in the pot for the showdown after the last (fourth) round of betting, the best five-card poker hand wins, using exactly two cards from your hand (your four private cards) and three of the five board cards.

Now let’s describe a hand of Omaha in detail including the “blinds” (which are similar to “antes”) and the four rounds of betting:

1. The cards are dealt clockwise starting with the player to the left of the dealer. The “dealer” or player in front of whom is the dealer button (in casinos there is usually a non-playing dealer) rotates clockwise around the table after each hand. Each round of betting proceeds clockwise starting to the left of the “dealer” (or player designated by the dealer button).

2. Each player is dealt four down cards (also called private cards or hidden cards).

3. Everyone looks at their own four down (private) cards. There is a first round of betting (before “the flop”) starting to the left of the dealer. Each player has the option of folding, calling or raising in turn, as in all forms of poker. Of course, at this point, no one knows which five cards will turn up on the board.

4. Assuming that more than one player remains after the first round of betting (occasionally everyone folds a raise before the flop), the dealer deals three cards face up on the table. These three “board” cards, called “the flop,” belong equally to all players.

Having now seen seven of your eventual nine cards, there is a second round of betting. You should consider how well the three- card flop combines with all two-card combinations in your private hand.

5. Assuming that more than one player remains after the second round of betting (after the “flop”), the dealer adds a fourth board card face up on the table (often called the “turn card”). There is a third round of betting.

6. The dealer adds a fifth and final board card face up on the table (often called the “river” card). Again, all of the five board cards belong equally to all players. At this point, each remaining player visualizes his best poker hand (five cards) using any three of the five communal board cards and any two of his four private hand cards (which only he can use). After this fifth and final card is dealt, there is a fmal round (the fourth round) of betting.

7. After this fifth and fmal (“last” or “river”) card is dealt, there is a final round (the fourth round) of betting. If two or more players call this final round of betting (the “showdown”), whoever has the best five-card poker hand is the winner.

Hold'em, Omaha, and Money

It is almost a basic rule of nature that whenever fish show tendencies to like any given game, then the fishermen learn to play the game also. Medium players and lesser fisherman would probably prefer games that they already understand sufficiently to win from the fish, such as hold ‘em, if plump fish were plentiful. But, if the plumpest fish are seen heading for the Omaha table, is that not where many fishermen will be found casting their nets? In a choice of games situation, do not most fishermen seek out the table with the most fish and fewest competing fishermen?

Looked at from this point of view, Omaha might be considered a concession that the fishermen are making to the fish. But is this really a sacrifice on the part of the fisherman? Actually it all depends on just how skillful the fisherman is! And how much is it worth to the fisherman to have more “fun.”


Success Rates

Although interest, entertainment, enjoyment, and so on, clearly has some effect on a player’s choice of games, nevertheless, all players (including fish) tend to prefer the game where they have the most financial success (or lose the least). The following chart indicates success rates for three levels of players:

Let us follow through on our previous observations regarding five-card stud, which leads to a key reason why class players should be delighted to adapt themselves to high Omaha. If every player at a given casino poker table is at least halfway decent, how much edge does the class player have duly noting the house rake? The answer, as we observed earlier, is that it all depends on the skill levels inherent in the game itself.

Omaha “super expert” can win without fish

Due to the combinatorial mathematical complexities of high Omaha, there is a very large skill factor in high Omaha. Thus, the super expert has a bigger edge over the medium players and lesser experts in high Omaha than in simpler poker games. Because of this larger difference in skill level, the super expert rates to win, even without plump fish in the game (this concept is discussed further in the comparison of high Omaha with high-low). But, since there usually are plenty of plump fish at the high Omaha tables, the class players rate to do very well at high Omaha.

While on the subject of modem fishermen adapting to their prey, let us all behold the recent casino trend toward increased and improved poker facilities. The house, the ultimate professional fisherman, has finally learned that it needs not only the dwindling “entertainment gambling” dollars, but it also needs the dollars of all of us regular poker fish who have learned to avoid craps and blackjack (including even some of us casual “counters”). Thus the house provides its services and we poker players gracefully surrender our several percent tributes with hardly a murmur.