Omaha Poker Rules and Strategy

Game summary

Omaha is a nine-card hi-lo poker game that uses a dealer button, blinds and community cards.

Omaha poker is a form of Texas Hold'em, except the players are dealt 4 hole cards (face down) as their initial starting hand prior to the flop and five board cards as community cards. The community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table in the same manner as in Texas Hold'em with betting after each round.

Players play in turn clockwise. Two players to the left of the dealer button post blinds. There are 3 other betting rounds; the flop, the turn, and the river. The five community cards and their rankings are used by all active players.

After the final betting round, the players remaining in the hand will then show all their cards. To qualify for a winning low hand, a player must have five cards of 8 or lower with no pair using two from their hand and three from the board (community cards). Straights or flushes may be used for the low hand if all the cards are 8 or below.

How to play Omaha Poker

Action starts with the first player to the left of the blinds beginning the betting. Players may bet, check, raise, or fold in turn. Community cards are then dealt face up in the center of the table in the same manner as in Texas Hold 'Em with betting after each round.

Players must use exactly 2 cards from their 4-card hand (initial hole cards) and 3 cards from the community cards to produce their best 5-card hand. The hole cards and the board cards are interchangeable for high or low. In order for there to be a low, there must be a combination of two cards from the player's hand and three from the board with a denomination of eight or smaller. Ace is low for this purpose. A wheel (A-2-3-4-5) is the best possible low and neither a straight nor a flush count against you for low.

In the showdown, the player must use two cards from his hand and three from the board exactly. Player may use different cards for high and low. After the final betting round, the players remaining in the hand will then show all their cards.

To qualify for a winning low hand, a player must have five cards of 8 or lower with no pair using two from their hand and three from the board. If there is no low, high will get the entire pot. If there is a qualifying low hand, it splits the pot with the winning high hand. Otherwise, the high hand takes the entire pot. In the event of ties, the pot will be split.

Omaha High Poker

There are two types of Omaha High games:

  • Limit Omaha High (there is a specific betting limit applied in each game and on each round of betting)
  • Pot Limit Omaha High (a player can bet what is in the pot).
  • Omaha Eight or Better
  • Omaha 8 or Better (also known as Omaha Hi/lo) is a popular poker game.
  • Limit Omaha 8 or Better (there is a specific betting limit applied in each game and on each round of betting)
  • Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better (a player can bet what is in the pot).

Also see other Poker Rules


The best Poker Room to play Omaha Poker

» Titan Poker

Titan Poker is an exciting online poker room that is quickly becoming the favorite for many players. Titan Poker's realistic and player-friendly software offers a wide range of tournament and ring game play, including progressive jackpot sit 'n' go tournaments. The jackpots grow larger each week, enabling players to win as much as $100,000, in addition to their normal tournament winnings.

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Deposit and Withdrawal Methods accepted by Titan Poker: NETeller, Click2Pay, FirePay, uKash, Payspark, eCheck, InstaDebit, UseMyBank, Moneybookers, credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club), Money Transfers, Solo and Switch debit Cards, Bank Wire, Swift, ACH.

This Poker Room is not open to players from the United States.

» Party Poker

Even though Party Poker lost its title as the largest poker room in the world after the U.S. poker ban, it still offers massive cash-game and tournament traffic. In addition to lots of traffic, there are many other advantages with Party Poker, such as loose games, great promotions, an excellent loyalty program with the largest selection available, special events and a membership-referral program.

The software offers decent graphics and functionality; it is fast and offers good playability. The functionality is good overall and offers nice features, like deal making, table auto resize and the usual tools including player notes, hand history, statistics and more.

The games offered are all variations of Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven-Card Stud and Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo. The games vary between No-Limit, Pot-Limit, and Fixed-Limit. Full-table games, short-handed, and heads-up tables are all available. Due to the size and geographical diversity of Party Poker, action can be found at pretty much any game at any hour.

Party Poker also offers plenty of tournaments and freerolls with great value. The traffic volume overall is in the top segment of the industry. Real-money player statistics as of Mar, 2007 show 12300 ring-game players and 80000 tournament players during peak hours.

Overall, Party Poker offers relatively loose games and software that plays well and is relatively fast. The software is updated frequently to ensure safety and stability, with almost no downtime as a result.

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods accepted by Party Poker: NETeller, Click2Pay, FirePay, uKash, Payspark, eCheck, InstaDebit, UseMyBank, Moneybookers, credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club), Money Transfers, Solo and Switch debit Cards, Bank Wire, Swift, ACH.

Party Poker has determined to suspend all real-money gaming business in the United States.