Florida Poker Tours - Omaha Fixed Limit

The Basics of

Poker

Omaha is a community card poker game (often referred to as a "flop game") similar to Texas Hold'em, where each player is dealt four cards and must make his best hand using exactly two of them, plus exactly three of the five community cards.
Omaha has four betting rounds.
Each player is privately dealt an incomplete hand, these pocket cards are placed face down.
Then community cards are cards dealt face up to the center of the table, these are shared by all players.
In total there are seven cards.
First off each player receives their personal four down cards, this is followed by a round of betting. Then three community cards are placed simultaneously on the board, again there is a round of betting. The next two board cards are turned one at a time, with a round of betting after each card.
Now the nine cards are out and four rounds of betting has occurred.

The best five card poker hand - constructed by any mix of the nine cards - wins the pot.
Players MUST use TWO of their hole cards combined with three from the board to make their hands.
Highest hand wins.
Ace plays both high and low for straights.
Cards speak.

Cards dealt to each player - 4 concealed
Community cards dealt - 5
Number of betting rounds - 4
Limits - Fixed Limit / Pot Limit /
Blinds or Antes - Blinds

The Table Layout

Omaha is played on a table with 2 to 10 players. Sometimes you may see 11 players squeezed in on one table in the early rounds of a tournament but the normal maximum is 10 players. With 10 players there would be a maximum of 45 cards in play and with 11 players there would be a maximum of 49 cards in play. The left of where the dealer sits is ALWAYS seat number ONE. When the game first starts everyone draws one card and highest draw has a 'dealer' button placed in front of him.

Notice that the positions are labeled but not the 'seat numbers'. Your seat number NEVER changes unless you move, but your position changes after every move of the button

The Dealer

A person does the physical dealing of the cards and is not one of the players. On the table is a small round disc called the button. This button is placed in front of the person who is the theoretical "dealer" to indicate where the dealing should begin.
The button will say 'D' on it as shown in picture below.

After every hand, the button moves clockwise as if each player at the table were getting a turn to deal.

The Blinds

Always moving clockwise, the player to the immediate left of the dealer (left of the dealer button) is called the small blind. This player places 1/2 of the structured bet in front of him or her. To the small blind's left is the big blind. This player places one full structured bet in front of him or her.

In Omaha poker, a disc also known as "the button", serves to indicate which player is the nominal dealer for the current game. Before the game begins, the player immediately clockwise the button posts the "small blind", typically half a small bet (for example, 5 in a 10 / 20 Omaha game). The player immediately clockwise the small blind posts the "big blind", which is always a full small bet (10 in a 10 / 20 Omaha game). Now, each player receives his or her four hole cards. Betting action proceeds around the table, starting with the player immediately clockwise the big blind.

The small and big blinds are compulsory bets. These two players are in actuality betting their first bet "in the blind." The motive for forcing these players to bet in the blind is to create action. Creating action gets money in the pot. This way no one can play for free (without folding) during the first round of betting.

When the next new hand is played the small blind then moves around to the player who was the big blind in the last hand, and the big blind moves to the player to his left. This movement of the small and big blinds continues throughout the game.

The Pocket or Hole Cards

Omaha Hi uses all 52 cards in the deck. The dealer begins the deal with the small blind. There will be 4 unique cards called Pocket or Hole cards dealt face down to each player. The hole or pocket cards are exclusive to each player. Each player will view these cards and no other player will see the other players 4 cards.

Betting Round 1 Pre-Flop

After the pocket or hole cards are dealt, the first round of betting begins. There are several actions a player who is involved in the hand can take.

The player may CALL the bet by matching the amount of the first bet (the amount of the big blind.) In the example, that would be 10.

The player may RAISE the bet by matching the amount of the first bet and adding an equal amount to it thereby making it 2 bets. In the example, that would be 20 (10 + 10.)

Finally, the player may FOLD. When a player folds, the action taken is one of passing and the player will not enter the hand by placing any money in the pot. This player will place his cards face down in front of him and the dealer will take them and place them in the discard pile.

The first person to start the betting in the first round of Omaha is the player to the left of the big blind. As stated before, the big blind has already made one complete bet.

The betting will continue until everyone in the pot has bet the same amount. That means that whenever there is a raise all the players still in the pot must call it, raise it or fold their hand. For example, if seat 5 raises then all the players behind him that want to stay in the pot will have to call the new amount or fold or re-raise.

The small blind must add their other half of the structured bet in order to call or the other half plus one full bet in order to raise. Otherwise, the small blind folds.

In this example:
Seat 3, 4, and 5 fold.
Seat 6 calls 10.
Seat 7 and 8 fold.
Seat 9 calls 10.
Seat 10 folds and the little blind calls by adding 5 to his small blind.
There are 4 players left.
There is 40 in the pot.

During the first round of betting, the big blind will have the OPTION to raise. As the action moves around the table and comes back to the big blind, the dealer will ask if they would like to exercise their option to raise. If they do, they may raise. If they do not, they will just check. In a way, they are raising themselves. This OPTION only happens during the first round.

Note: In limit hold'em there can only be one bet and three raises. If there is a third re-raise, its called a cap.

Betting Round 2 The Flop

To begin the second round of betting the dealer will burn the top card by placing it in the discard pile (without showing it) and then place three cards in the middle of the table.

These 3 cards are known as the flop. These are the first 3 of 5 community cards (cards accessible to all players to use with their hole cards) to be dealt face up in the middle of the table. These 3 cards may be used by all the players in the game by combining them with the two unique cards held in their own hand to form the best possible hand.

The second round of betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer (the person with button.)
This player may CHECK, which is deferring the first action to the next player or choose to bet.
All bets and raises occur in small bets (increments of 5 in a 10 / 20 game).

In the example:
The small blind checks.
The big blind bets 10 (one structured bet.)
Seat 6 calls 10.
Seat 9 calls 10 and raises 10 (one structured bet.).
The small blind folds.
The big blind calls 10.
Seat 6 calls 10.
There are three players left with 100 in the pot.

The second round of betting is complete after every player at the table has acted and placed the same amount in the pot, checked or folded.

Betting Round 3 The Turn

To begin the third round of betting the dealer will burn the top card by placing it in the discard pile (without showing it) and place a 4th card in the middle of the table next to the flop.

This card is known as the turn or 4th street.
Just as with the flop, the turn card may be used by all the players in the game by combining them with the two unique cards held in their own hand, to make the best hand out of 5 cards only.

This round of betting will begin again with the player to the left of the dealer.
On this round of Omaha, betting doubles from the small bet to the big bet. In a 10/ 20 game, betting on the turn is done in 20 increments.
If this player decides to bet, the amount of the bet in this round will be 2 structured bets, which, in this example would be 20 (equal to double the original structured bet.)

In the example:
The big blind bets 20 (two structured bets).
Seat 6 calls 20.
Seat 9 calls 20 and raises 20.
The big blind calls the 20 raise and re-raises 20.
Seat 6 calls the 40 raises from seat 9 and the big blind.
Seat nine calls the 20 raise and caps the betting with the last 20 raise.
Finally, the big blind calls $20 and seat 6 calls 20.
There are now 3 players each with $240 bets this round making it a total pot of $340.

Note: In Limit Omaha Hi, there may be one bet and three raises per round.

The third round of betting is complete after every player at the table has acted. They will all have either, checked, placed the same amount in the pot, or folded.

Betting Round 4 The River

To begin the fourth round of betting the dealer will burn the top card by placing it in the discard pile (without showing it) and place a 5th card in the middle of the table next to the flop and turn card.

This card is known as the river or 5th street.

This round of betting will begin again with the player to the left of the dealer. If this player decides to bet, the amount of the bet in this round will once again be equal to 2 structured bets. Just as with the flop and the turn, the river card may be used by all the players in the game by combining them with the two unique cards held in their own hand.
If this player decides to bet, the amount of the bet in this round will be 2 structured bets, which, in this example would be 20 (equal to double the original structured bet.)

In the example:
The big blind checks.
Seat 6 bets 20.
Seat 9 calls 20 and raises 20.
The big blind folds and seat 6 calls for 20.

The fourth and final round of betting is complete after every player at the table has acted and placed the same amount in the pot, checked or folded.

The Showdown

Players who have not folded show their hands. The first person left in the hand to reveal his or her cards will be the one that made the last bet during the 4th round of the hand. If no bet was made and all the players checked, then, in order from the left of the dealer to the last player will show his or her hand.

When a player has a better hand, it must be revealed in order to win. If the player elects to throw the cards away because of it being of less value than any other revealed hand, he or she may muck the cards (place the cards where they will be discarded.)

When a player is sure that he or she is beaten, he or she may or may not elect to show his or her hand (because it gives information about what hand he or she held.) The dealer will identify who has the best hand and the pot will be given to this player.

Because the hand went to a showdown, the winning player has the right to request to see the losing hand even if the losing player mucks his hand.

Using the community cards (which remain on the table) and their pocket cards, each player announces their best possible hand (see Poker Hand Rankings for additional information).
A player may use 5 of the 9 cards to make the best hand possible.
In Omaha, players MUST use TWO of their hole cards combined with three from the board to make their hands.
In the event of identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands.

In the example:
Seat 6 reveals his hole cards to be the Jack of Diamonds, Ten of Clubs, the Nine of Clubs and the Queen of Diamonds giving him an Ace high straight.
Seat 9 turns over the Queen and King of Hearts, and the Ace and Three of Spades giving him the nut flush and the best hand.
The dealer shoves the pot to seat 9 because he won.

All cards are returned to the dealer. The cards are shuffled and/or scrambled in preparation for the next hand. The dealer button is moved one position clockwise, indicating the new dealers position. The blinds are also moved one position clockwise and the blind bets are posted and a new hand begins.