How to Play Omaha

Players form their best five-card poker hands from nine available cards: four personal and five community cards. Each five-card hand must consist of exactly two personal cards and three community cards.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Card Tables
• Folding Chairs
• Playing Cards
• Poker Chips

1. Collect the ante from each player.
2. Begin the game by dealing four cards to each player. Two of these cards will be used to make the player's hand.
3. Follow with a round of betting.
4. Deal the "flop" - discard, or burn, the top card of the deck and place the next three cards face up in the center of the table. There will eventually be five cards in the center of the table, three of which must be used.
5. Follow with a round of betting.
6. Burn the top card and add the fourth community card.
7. Follow with a round of betting.
8. Burn the top card and add the fifth and final community card.
9. Finish with a round of betting.
10. Determine the winner.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to practice online, visit this free play site and poker tutorial.
• A popular game for the latitude and options it presents to its players, Omaha can be found in most card houses.
• Your position at the table can often dictate your playing style. For instance, if you're last to play, you might try to bluff and steal the pot when appropriate. If you're first to play while holding a strong hand, you might bet small and allow players after you to drive up the stakes.
• Omaha is often played hi-lo, meaning the player with the highest hand and the player with the lowest hand split the pot.
• Don't walk into a casino or card house expecting to win until you've practiced the game on your own and understand it thoroughly. Experienced players at these tables look forward to relieving "live fish" of their money, and you could end up learning expensive lessons.