| Number of players: | 2-10 |
| Playing cards: | standard deck of 52 playing cards |
The rules of Omaha are very similar to the Texas hold'em rules. Only points 3 and 11 are different.
Every round, one player receives the dealer button and is called the 'dealer' (regardless of whether he or she actually deals the cards or not). The dealer button is rotated one player clockwise every hand.
The two players left to the dealer have to pay the small blind and big blind respectively. These forced bets are pre-determined in size and have to be paid before the cards are dealt.
Every player receives four cards face down (the 'hole cards'), starting with the player to the left of the dealer going clockwise and with one card at a time to each player.
The first betting round starts with the player directly to the left of the big blind going clockwise. Every player has the option to fold, call or raise.
After the first betting round, the dealer has to 'burn' (discard face down) the top card of the deck and put three cards face up (the community cards) on the table. This is called the flop.
A second round of betting takes place starting with the player seated directly to the left of the dealer button going clockwise. Every player can choose to check, bet, fold, call or raise (the last two only when a player has bet in front).
After the flop comes the turn. The dealer again burns the top card of the deck and now flips one card face up. There are now four community cards on the table.
Another round of betting starts similar to the betting round on the flop.
The turn is followed by the river. Again the dealer burns the top card of the deck after which he turns the fifth card face up on the table.
The last betting round follows. This betting round is similar to the betting rounds on the flop and the turn.
The player who bet or raised the last time on the river has to show his hand first. If everybody checked on the river, then the player to the left of the dealer button has to show first and then going clockwise. The player with the highest ranking poker hand wins the pot. Every player has to pick exactly two of his four hole cards and three of the five community cards to make his or her best five card hand.
Omaha is usually played with a fixed limit or pot limit betting structure. Because you have more hole cards you will make a hand more often and therefore Omaha tends to be more of an action game than Texas hold'em. Try it, it's fun!
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