Gaming Empire

Omaha Hi Poker

Omaha Hi is played with a dealer button to mark who the dealer is during any given game. This button rotates clockwise around the table after every hand. Since the dealer is the last to act, it is important to be the dealer, who as the greatest advantage for that hand.

Forced Bets

On occassion, Omaha Hi has an ante in which every player places a pre-determined amount of money into the pot at the beginning of each hand. Ante can be, but is not limited to, 1/10th of the low limit bet size. This ante does not have anything to do with or contribute toward any subsequent bets.

Omaha Hi rules stipulate that there must be 2 forced bets every hand, which are called blinds. There is a “small blind”, which equates to 1/2 of the low limit bet size, and there is a “big blind”, which equates to the low limit bet size. Before a given hand commences, the participant to the immediate left of the dealer button is must place the small blind, and the poker player to the left of that person must place the big blind. It is important to note that these 2 “blind” bets contribute towards that player’s 1st round bet, and are considered to be live bets, which means the player may elect to raise, even if no other player has.

Betting Rounds

Similar to Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi has 4 rounds of betting. In a fixed limit Omaha Hi game, all bets must be equate to the size of the low limit bet, in the 1st 2 rounds of betting. In the last 2 rounds of betting, bets must equate to the high limit bet. For example, your $ 5 / $ 10 Omaha Hi, all bets in the 1st 2 rounds are in increments of $ 5, and all the bets in the latter 2 rounds are in increments of $ 10. Additionally, a maximum of 3 raises per betting round are permitted.

* Pre-flop Betting Round – The participant to the immediate left of the dealer button posts the small blind. The participant to the left of him, places the big blind. 4 cards are dealt to every player face down, starting with the small blind. The game commences with the poker player to the immediate left of the big blind, who decides to either fold, call (by placing the low limit bet), or raise (by placing in double the low limit bet). The game continues clockwise around the table. The small blind participant may call (assuming no player has raised to that point) by adding the other 1/2 of the low limit bet that he placed initially. The big blind participant can simply check (assuming no player has raised to that point), since hes already wagered the full size of the 1st round bet, with the big blind.

* Flop Betting Round – Next, 3 community cards are dealt face-up. In this round and the subsequent 2 rounds, the participant to the immediate left of the dealer is the first to perform an action. Game play continues in a clockwise fashion around the table. In this round, all bets and raises must be equate to the low limit bet size.

* Turn Betting Round – Next, a 4th community card is dealt face-up. Game play continues similarly to the previous round, with the exception that all bets and raises must equate to the high limit bet size.

* River Betting Round – Next, a 5th communitycard is dealt face-up. Game play proceeds similarly to the previous round. Again, similar to the prior round, all bets and raises must equate to the high limit bet size.

* Showdown Round – Any active player has the option of showing or mucking their hand. The person who bet last is the first to show their hand, and this revealing of the cards proceeds clockwise from that point, with each active player choosing to show their hand, or muck it. Why muck a hand, you might ask ? Many times a player will muck a hand if they believe that they are not going to win the pot, and they do not want the other players opponents to see what they played (this might reveal a bluffing strategy, for example). In any event, the highest revealed hand made from a player’s best 2 hole cards and best 3 community cards, wins the pot.

Omaha Hi/Lo

In Omaha Hi/Lo games, the pot is split between BOTH the Hi hand and the Lo hand; i.e., there are 2 winners to each game. The same cards are used in declaring either a Hi or Lo best hand. Additionally, 1 hand can conceivably win both the Hi and the Lo portions of the pot. An example hand that can do this is known as “the Wheel”, which consists of an Ace, 2, 3, 4, and 5. If there is no obvious qualifying Lo hand winner, the best Hi hand wins the entire pot. In the division of the pot, the Hi hand receives any odd chip.

Some interesting scenarios of the Omaha Hi/Lo rules are that flushes and straights do not go against you when you are qualifying for the Lo game. Additionally, you can utilize different cards in your hand for the Hi side and different cards for the Lo side of your hand considerations, or you can even use the same cards for both the Hi and Lo sides. Further, as stated earlier, in a split pot, any odd chip that is left over, is earned by the person who wins the high side of the pot.

Omaha Hi/Lo is also known as “Omaha High Low”, “Omaha hi/lo”, “Omaha Hi-Lo”, “Omaha high-low”, and “Omaha high/low”.

Omaha 8

In Omaha 8 games, the pot is split between BOTH the Lo and Hi hands; i.e., there are 2 players that claim victory in each game. Hi or Lo best hands are derived from the same cards.
Additionally, 1 single hand can win both the Hi and the Lo portions of the pot. As an example of this, a hand known as “the Wheel”, which consists of an Ace, 2, 3, 4, and 5, can conceivably win both the Hi and Lo hands. In a given hand, if there is no obvious qualifying Lo hand winner, the best Hi hand will win the entire pot. In the division of the pot, the Hi hand receives any odd chip, over the Lo hand. Other than that, all the regular rules of an Omaha Hi/Lo game are in effect except that a qualifier of 8-or-lower for the Lo hand applies. Essentially, what this means is that the winning low hand can only consist of cards under the value of 9. Hence, the Flop would need to consist of 3 cards under the value of 9. In order to qualify for the low half of the pot, the low hand must be 8 or lower. That is why this game is named “8 or better”, or for short, “Omaha 8″.

Some interesting scenarios of the Omaha 8 (and Omaha Hi/Lo) rules are that straights and flushes do not count against you when you are competing to win the Lo game. Additionally, you can use different cards in your hand for the Lo portion and different cards for the Hi portion of your hand considerations, or better yet, you can even use the same cards for both the Lo and Hi hands.