Omaha poker consists of a dealer and several players around the table. One standard deck of cards without jokers is used and the person designated as dealer is usually denoted by the dealer button. The dealer changes after each hand has been played and the new dealer sits clockwise from the previous one.

In Omaha, players are permitted to make a total of four bets per round which consists of one initial bet and three raises. Bets commence in the game before any cards are dealt by two players seated on the dealer’s left. The player on the dealer’s immediate left posts what is called the small blind, which is a mandatory ante bet placed without seeing the cards The value of this bet is set at half the table lower limit. The player on his left then posts what is called the big blind. This bet is made for double the value of the small blind, or the table lower limit. Blinds count towards the players’ total investment in the betting round are made to get the game going and to force players to put money in the pot.

The final raise in each round is called the cap and signals no further raises may be made in that round. When you reach the cap, your only options are to call or fold.

There are four betting rounds followed by a final showdown round where the pot is taken by the winner. In these rounds, additional community cards are dealt in the middle of the table that all players must make use of, although they remain in place and are not picked up by players. These cards affect the winning combination in a player’s hand as the winning hand in Omaha is made up of a combination of five cards from both the community cards and the player’s hole cards, as we shall see. We’ll now look at how each round is played.

Round One betting begins before any cards are dealt with the player on the dealer’s left who posts the small blind. Then the player on his left posts the big blind. Now the four hole cards are dealt face down to each player and the betting starts with the player on the left of that player posting the big blind. In this round, bets are set at the lower table limit. A raise would then be double this amount.

There are three betting options in Omaha for each player as in other forms of poker. These are bet, call or raise, with the alternative being to fold or to not continue in the game. Once the player left of the big blind has bet, called or raised, other players can only either call or raise. The same amount should be placed in the pot by each player and once this been done, the betting stops for this round. At this point, the three community cards known as the flop are dealt face up in the middle of the table.

Round Two betting then commences with the player on the dealer’s left and all bets and raises again remain fixed by the lower table limit. When all bets have been completed for this round, the fourth community card, known as the turn, is dealt face up.

Round Three betting again starts with the player on the dealer’s left only this time the bets and raises increase to the table upper limit. Once all nets have been completed in this round, the fifth community card, known as the river, is dealt face up.

Round Four proceeds in the same manner as the previous round, with bets set at the higher table limit.

The Showdown follows the completion of all bets in round four and a winner is established by a final show of hands. This is not mandatory, as those who prefer not to show are merely acknowledging defeat. The winning hand is decided from a compilation of any two of the player’s hole cards and any three community cards.