Omaha Hi Rules
Play Omaha Hi to experience your Poker High
Omaha Hi (sometimes called Omaha High) is ever growing in popularity as a poker game. It has a few more restrictions than Texas Hold’em bring exciting challenges to the game. Learn all about playing online here.
There are two types of Omaha Hi poker, they are:
- Limit Omaha Hi – each round of betting carries a limit
- Pot Limit Omaha Hi – bets are equivalent to the amount in the pot
In Omaha Hi each player receives four face-down cards known as “hole cards”. There are also five face-up cards known as “community cards” dealt to the middle of the table. A hand is made up of the best combination of the nine available cards; however, an important difference in Omaha Hi is that a hand must consist of exactly two hole cards and three community cards. The best hand wins the pot.
Omaha Hi Online - How the Game Goes Round
A round of Omaha Hi contains four rounds of betting. If you are playing Limit Omaha Hi a maximum of one bet and three raises are allowed in each betting round. A player will have the option of folding, calling or raising when it is their turn in the betting round, betting takes place in a clockwise direction
When playing online, the cards are dealt by a virtual dealer. As a result a dealer button is used to signify a player as dealer, the button moves around one place clockwise before each game round and is used to determine the betting order.
Placing the Blinds:
The two players on the dealer’s left place blind bets into the pot before the cards are dealt. The player on the immediate left of the dealer places the Small Blind, this is normally equal to half of the minimum bet, for example in a $2/$4 game the small blind is $1. If dividing the minimum bet in two does not result in a whole number then the bet is normally rounded down, however, this will vary depending on where you are playing. The player to the Small Blind’s left places the Big Blind; this is equal to the minimum bet. The placing of blinds ensures that there is money to be won in the pot.
Betting Round 1:
Each player is dealt two face-down cards known as “Hole Cards”. Betting then begins with the player to the left of the Big Blind, they have the option to call, raise or fold. If the game is Limit Omaha Hi then in this round, the bet can only be equal to the lowest end stakes. For example in a $10/$20 game, the bet would be $10. As a result a raise would be equal to $20, one bet to call the Big Blind and one bet to raise the stakes. The betting continues until all players have placed an equal amount of money into the pot or until the maximum amount of bets has been reached. Should all but one player fold then the remaining player wins the pot.
Betting Round 2:
After the first round of betting three community cards are dealt known as the “Flop”. Once these cards have been dealt the second betting round commences and has exactly the same rules as the first.
Betting Round 3:
After the second betting round a fourth community card is dealt known as the “Turn”. Betting then follows in a similar way to the first two rounds. However, in this round you can now bet the maximum stake. For example in a $10/$20 game, after the Turn has been dealt you must bet at least $20.
Betting Round 4:
The final community card is then dealt; it is called the “River”. This is followed by the final round of betting. As in the third round, the maximum stake is used for betting. Once all betting is complete, the players reveal their Hole cards and the highest ranking hand wins the pot.
Added Omaha Hi Online Rules
There are a few additional rules when playing Omaha Hi online. Due to there being more than one player at a table, most online poker rooms place a time limit on how long you have to make a decision when it is your turn to bet. The time limit is normally around thirty seconds. Should the player fail to respond within that time one of two things will happen, either:
- If the player has already placed a bet he/she will be considered All-in.
- If the player has not yet placed a bet then their hand is folded and the game continues
If a player is considered all in, no more bets can be placed into the main pot and a side pot is opened for the rest of the player’s betting. Therefore a player who does not respond still has a chance to win the main pot even if he/she does not respond.
If there is a tie between players then the pot is split evenly between those players. If there is an odd chip, for instance if trying to split $5.25 between two people then the first player on the left of the dealer button receives it.
Get the lowdown on Online Omaha Hi Language
If you do not understand terms such as fold, call, check, bet or raise explanations can be found on the Basic Bets page
Hand Rankings
Understanding poker hand rankings is imperative to winning, see are Hand Rankings page for information.
