How To Play Omaha Poker – Hands, Bets, and Tips!

Eager to learn how to play Omaha Poker? Also known as Omaha Hold’ Em, Omaha poker is a community card poker game that’s similar to Texas Hold’ Em, but slightly more complex in nature. If you’re up for a new challenge, our guide on how to play Omaha poker will walk you through everything everything you need to know, from basic rules and principles to advanced strategy.

What Is Omaha Poker?

Omaha Poker is one of the most popular variations of poker you can find at the best online casinos. It’s part of a family of poker games called “Hold ‘Em”, characterised by the presence of community cards that all players can use, as opposed to draw games, where hands are built solely through concealed cards.

At the start of every Omaha Hold ‘Em game, players are dealt four cards (called “hole cards”) that remain theirs alone. In addition, five community cards will be dealt face-up on the board. The goal is for players to use exactly three community cards and two hole cards to make the best five-card poker hand.

Where does Omaha poker originate from?

The origins of the game are a bit unclear. According to some sources, Robert Turner, a casino executive, first presented it to a professional poker player, William Walter Boyd, who later introduced it to the Las Vegas Golden Nugget Casino offering, under the name “Nugget Hold ‘Em”.

Is Omaha Poker the Same as Texas Hold ‘Em Poker?

Not exactly, though other voices claim Omaha Poker actually derived from Texas Hold ‘Em, given the many similarities shared by the two games, especially in terms of basic rules.

However, the main difference is that, in Texas Hold ‘Em, players receive two hole cards instead of four, as well as five community cards, so they can make the best hand out of any combination of the seven cards. Apart from this, the subsequent betting rounds are identical for both games. Omaha allows a maximum of eleven players, though it’s most commonly played with six or nine.

We must further note that Omaha poker is more complex and requires a skilful eye for building your hand, evaluating current cards and reading the board. Bluffing is also more challenging, especially at Pot-Limit Omaha, because there’s a high chance players will have strong hands at showdown. In such situations, it’s advisable to semi-bluff, or raise with an incomplete hand that may improve (e.g. a drawing hand). If the opponent folds, you win the pot, and if they call, you may still build a stronger hand later in the game.

Finally, anyone seeking to learn how to play poker must further get acquainted with the concept of variance or volatility, which is the inherent risk involved in the game based on the expected fluctuations. For example, certain Texas Hold ’Em online poker variations have an RTP of up to 99.37%, leaving the house edge at under 1%. On the other hand, Hi/Lo poker mini games and similar releases usually have lower RTPs of around 97%.

The good news with both is that, because poker is skill-based in general, not luck-based, it’s possible to lower the house edge with adequate strategy, especially if you’re an advanced-level player.

Omaha Poker Variants

Online poker has evolved tremendously over the years, both in terms of organisation (e.g. in tournaments, game rooms, and with a live dealer via streaming), but also when it comes to the available variations. The same applies to Omaha, which, in North American casinos, is actually a broad term that refers to several poker games, such as:

• Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: This version allows up to nine participants and forced bets or blinds are to be used (small and big) before the cards are dealt. The maximum amount players can bet during Pot-limit Omaha is the total of the pot, nothing more. So, if the pot is $100, the first player can only bet $100.
• No-Limit Omaha Poker: As opposed to the previous game, here players are not limited by the size of the pot. They can go all in or bet all their chips at any moment, as there’s no cap on the number of raises allowed.
• Fixed-Limit Omaha Poker: This variation tends to attract beginners rather than super-skilled players, because it won’t cost too much to remain in the game. There will be a particular limit applied to each game and subsequent round of betting. The pot can only be raised up to four times, and each bet or raise must be equal to the size of the blinds. Generally, players rarely fold in this version.
• Omaha Hi-Lo: Also known as Omaha 8 or Omaha 8-or-better, this version is a very distinct take on Omaha as players compete for the low and high parts of the pot at the same time. In other words, the pot gets split between the lowest and highest hands, which is something that’s essential to remember if you’re learning how to play Omaha hi-lo poker. For example, to qualify for low, you’d need to play 8-7-6-5-4 or lower, hence the alternate name of the game (8 or better). The best-case scenario in Omaha Hi-Lo is when a single player has both the lowest and the highest cards at the same time, because they get to win the whole pot.

How To Play Omaha Poker – The Basic Strategies

Understanding the intricacies of how to play Omaha poker is not very easy if all you have on your hands are the theoretical concepts. As such, our team will walk you through each betting stage, what to expect in practice and how to act.

P.S. This guide assumes you already know how to play traditional poker and the best poker positions strategies. If you don’t, be sure to read our other guides first.

Pre-Flop

To commence the game, you need between two and 10 players, a standard deck of 52 French cards, poker chips, a dealer button, and two blind buttons. The aim here is to create the best five-card poker hand using two of the four hole cards dealt at the beginning, and three community cards, which will be dealt in stages. The first are private cards that belong to the player, while the latter are presented face-up on the table, so they’ll be available to everyone.

The Preflop is the initial betting round, so it starts with a forced bet of the blinds (small blind and big blind). These two players will be situated to the left of the dealer, and the value of the blinds is usually pre-determined. The dealer hands out four cards face-down to each player, in clockwise order. Once everyone gets their cards, the betting round begins, with the Under-the-Gun position being the first to act.

In response, the other participants can either call (place a bet equal to the Big Blind or match the highest bet placed before them), fold (drop out of the hand), or raise (increase the previous high bet).

The Flop

In this stage, the croupier will lay out three cards face-up on the table or board. These cards constitute the Flop, so they are the three community cards each player can use to create the best possible hand. The dealer always makes sure to place them in a visible spot, or at the centre of the table, so everyone can see them properly. After this, a new round of betting begins, similar to the previous one.

The Turn

After the betting action finishes for the Flop round, an additional card will be dealt on the table. This is called the Turn, and it’s placed face-up next to the other three community cards. All players who haven’t folded yet and are still active in the hand begin a new betting round, following the same pattern and order of the previous one. Once again, the betting goes around the table clockwise, starting with the player on the left side of the dealer.

The River

It’s now time for the dealer to hand out the last community card face-up on the table, which is called the River, followed by another round of betting. This is the final spot to strategise, so if you’re still in the round, you must think quickly. Take a close look at your hole cards and the community cards, and build your best five-card poker hand – remember you can only use two of your private cards and three of the community cards.

This is vastly different from playing casino Hold ‘Em Texas Poker, for instance, where these rules are less strict, because you’re allowed to use one, two, or even none of your hole cards to construct your hand. That is also why Omaha poker has higher variance than other games and it generally requires strong bankroll management to avoid losses.

At this point, if you’re confident in your hand, you can increase your wager, in turn boosting the pot and potentially winning more money. However, if your hand appears weak, the wise course of action is to fold before the showdown.

The Showdown

After the final betting round ends, if there are two or more players still active in the hand, they will move to the Showdown stage in which they reveal their cards. The core idea here is that the victory always goes to the player with the best five-card poker hand. However, if there’s only one active player left, then they’ll automatically win the pot, without needing to show their hand. If there’s a tie, the pot gets split between the winners.

Card Rankings in Omaha Poker

If you’ve already mastered the game in general, the good news is that the card rankings in Omaha Poker are identical to the ones used in other types of poker, such as Texas Hold ‘Em.

More simply put, the same hierarchy of hands you’re accustomed to applies here, in which the most valuable combination is Royal Flush (10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit) and the least desirable is the High Card (a five-card hand of different suits, without matching ranks or pairs).

The absolute best way to start a game of Omaha Poker is with a double-suited hand (two cards of one suit and two cards of another), because you have two chances to make a flush. One example would be Ave and King of Spades, and the Queen and Jack of Hearts.

It’s always smart to memorise these poker hands to optimise your play and act faster in time-sensitive and pressure-packed situations. To help you in this regard, our team compiled a handy cheat sheet below that you can check out.

The card rankings in Omaha poker are similar to those in Texas Hold ‘Em.

How to Bet in Omaha Poker

The way you can bet in Omaha Poker largely depends on the variation you’re playing, because each one has different rules and wager restrictions. Just like in Texas Hold ‘Em, in Omaha Poker, the minimum bet allowed is the equivalent of the big blind. Then, things branch out somewhat.

For example, in the Pot-Limit version, the most you can bet is the total sum of chips in the pot. This can help with budget management and can initially attract low rollers, because starting the hand is cheap, but it can cost more towards the end.

If you play the Fixed-Limit version, you can only raise four times, and each raise must be equal to the size of the blinds. The no-limit version, meanwhile, tends to attract the more aggressive players and high rollers in particular, because you can bet or raise to your heart’s content at any moment.

Winning Tips for Omaha Poker

Once you’ve gained a thorough understanding of the poker rules involved in this particular game variation, your next step is to use any other elements that can give you the upper hand over your opponents, namely:

• Pick the right position: Where you sit at a poker table matters. The Small Blinds and the Big Blinds are the most disadvantaged as they make bets preflop and without having had the opportunity to see what other players are doing. The best positions to be in are the late ones, namely the Highjack, the Cutoff, and the Button.
• Learn the best hands: In order to remember the general hand hierarchy in poker, you can use infographics or cheat sheets. However, to go even deeper, it’s wise to further make a list of the best hands for Omaha Poker in particular. Here are five of the most optimal starting hands: A-A-K-K (double suited), A-A-J-10 (double suited), A-A-Q-Q (double suited), A-A-J-J (double suited), and A-A-10-10 (double suited).
• Remember to bluff: Study the other participants’ reactions and the basics of poker psychology, then mislead them through bluffing when the opportunity arises. Always raise when you can, even if your hand is not the best. This strategic move can cause one of the opponents holding better hands to fold.

Omaha Poker vs Poker vs Texas Hold ‘Em

Are you still in the comparison stage and having a hard time deciding which poker variation suits your play style? If you’re curious as to how Omaha fares next to other popular poker types in terms of betting rounds, number of participants, and other key criteria, this explanatory table should help.

How to Play Omaha Poker – Our Verdict

Compared to its more famous cousin, Texas Hold ‘Em poker, Omaha offers a wider number of hand combinations, increasing your odds to create a strong one, raise more often, and win the pot. Despite its higher variance, it’s still one of the most popular versions to play. We hope the knowledge shared in our guide made the process easier!

How to Play Omaha Poker – Sources

1. Britannica.com – One of the largest, fact-checked online encyclopaedias in the world.
2. Indiana Daily Student – A media publication for students since 1867.
3. A No-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Poker Jam/Fold Endgame Equilibrium – Written by poker expert Kenneth Ho in 2015.