Omaha rules

Omaha deals four private cards instead of two, and shares the same five community cards as Texas hold'em — flop, turn and river, with a betting round before the flop and after each stage.

The blinds and the deal

The two players to the dealer's left post the blinds before any cards are dealt: the small blind, and the big blind at twice that. Everyone then receives four cards face down. The first betting round starts with the player to the left of the big blind, and in every later round the first player still in to the dealer's left speaks first.

The board

Three community cards are turned together — the flop — followed by a betting round. Then a fourth, the turn, and a fifth, the river, each with a betting round of its own. The dealer button moves one seat to the left after every hand.

The two-card rule

This is the rule that catches everyone. You must use exactly two of your four private cards and exactly three of the community cards. Not one, not three. If four hearts are showing on the table and you hold one more, you do not have a flush — you need two hearts in your hand.

Because every player has six possible two-card combinations to draw from, hands run much stronger than in hold'em. A flush that would win a hold'em pot is routinely second best here.

Reading a hand

The board is K♣ K♥ 7♠ 3♦ 9♠ and you hold K♦ 7♥ 7♣ 2♠. Your two sevens with the board's kings and seven make sevens full of kings — but K♦ 7♥ with K♣ K♥ 7♠ makes kings full of sevens, which is better. Always check every pair of your own cards against every three from the board.

Pot limit

Omaha is usually played pot limit rather than no limit: the largest bet allowed is the current size of the pot. A raise is calculated by first calling, then raising by the pot as it stands after that call.

The showdown

If everyone else folds, the last player in takes the pot without showing. Otherwise the remaining hands are turned over and the best five-card hand wins. Equal hands split the pot, and a player who went all in can only win the part of the pot they matched.

Starting hands

The best hands are four cards that work together: connected ranks, and two cards each of two suits, such as A♠ K♥ Q♠ J♥. A pair of aces with two unrelated cards is far weaker than it is in hold'em, and a hand that can only make the second-best flush or straight is the most expensive hand in the game.