Omaha High and Omaha hi/lo

To become a successful Omaha player you need to have an absolute understanding of the mechanics of the game. There are two versions to this game; Omaha high-only (meaning the highest hand wins) and Omaha high-low split (meaning the highest hand and the lowest hand split the pot). As Omaha hi/lo (high-low) is the more popular of the two you’ll be more likely to sit down at a hi/lo game, both versions are played exactly the same way except in the hi/lo version the pot (the total amount of money bet on a single hand by all the players) is split; the high hand is awarded half of the pot and the low hand will get the other half. In the event there is no low hand the high hand will take the whole pot. For a hand to qualify as a low, it must have five cards that are ranked eight or lower and have no pairs. For example, a hand consisting of ace, two, four, seven, and eight qualifies as a low hand; but a hand of ace, two, three, seven, and ten does not.
Play in Omaha goes through four rounds of betting: preflop, the flop, the turn and the river. The amounts of bets in the rounds are determined by the limits of the table. Example: at a $1/$2 table, in the first 2 rounds (the opening round and the flop) the amounts of the bets are set by the lower limits of the table, $1. In rounds 3 and 4 (the turn and the river) bets are set by the higher limit of the table, $2.

Opening Round

In both Omaha versions there is a rotating blind structure (meaning for every hand, certain players must contribute a set amount of money to start the betting). The two players to the left of the dealer are respectively the small blind and the big blind. The big blind is the lower limit of the table, small blind is half of the big blind. A dealer button is used to indicate the dealer position, it moves clockwise around the tables with each hand. To start the hand, the deck is shuffled, the blinds are posted and each player is dealt four cards face-down, these are hole cards. There is a round of betting that is limited to one bet with 3 raises. Betting starts with the person third to the left of the dealer, but for this round only and is subject to the lower limit of the table.

The Flop

Then three community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. These cards are called the "flop." All cards are dealt on the table face up, these are community cards. (All players may use them) In Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo, all winning hands must consist of two hole cards and three board cards. To make his best hand the player may use any two of his four cards he wishes but must use two hole cards combined with any three of the five board/community cards. In a clockwise motion starting with person to the left of the dealer, each player bets or folds with bets being subject to the lower limit of the table. In all following rounds players will bet in this order.

The Turn

Another card is dealt face up, which is called the "turn". After the betting action on the flop is complete, the dealer will place a fourth community card, face-up, on the table. This is the turn card, there is another round of betting but now the bet minimum has gone up to the higher limit of the table, you must bet equal to or more than the higher limit of the table, you cannot place a bet that is lower.

The River

When players have completed the betting on the turn a fifth card is dealt to the community and is the final card. All remaining players will now have nine cards to make their best hand; 4 in the hole and 5 on the table; keeping in mind that a player must use exactly two of his hole cards. Once the river card has been dealt, the final round of betting begins. This last, fourth, round of betting is subject to the higher limit of the table. When all betting is complete, the pot is awarded to the player with the best hand. In Omaha hi/ho the pots will be split between the player with the highest hand and the lowest hand, Omaha the whole pot will go to the highest hand.