03-05-2006
How to Play and Win Omaha Poker
Omaha Poker is a poker game of five community cards. There are two types of Omaha Poker. These are Omaha High Only and Omaha Hi/Lo split. The games could be of No Limit/Pot Limit.
The casino appoints the dealer, called button. The game of Omaha Poker begins when you start a blind bet. Every player has to pool definite amount of money into the pot. The player to the dealers left is the first active player who bets an amount equal to half the minimum bet of the table known as small blind. The player next to the first active player bets an amount equal to or more than the minimum betting amount, known as big blinds. The rest of the players need not put any amount in this round. As the dealer button keeps rotating round the table, every player will eventually get a chance to be the small or big blind and the deal completes only after a full rotation.
Omaha Poker game then proceeds with the players with four face down cards each. The dealer receives the last card. Now the players can either raise or call. In the absence of any raise, check option can be used which means a player can skip his/her bet in that round.
After the first round of Omaha poker, the dealer will burn the top card discarding the top card of the deck. Now you have to deal with the three face up community cards. With this, the next betting round begins. The dealer burns the top card before the next round and then the use of fourth face up community card begins, known as Turn.
The fifth and final face up community cards known as River deals with the final round of Omaha poker. Usually you notice three to four raises l the betting rounds. In rare cases of heads up with two players, raises are unlimited.
The Omaha Poker player has to use two hole cards and three other board cards for a highest five card winning hand. Rarely the winning hand may also be with five board cards. In such a case, the pot splits amongst the active players. A tiebreaker is never a sixth card.