Understanding the Game of Omaha Hold’em

The first thing that you need to know about Omaha Hold’Em is that it is a community card game. What are community cards? They are the cards that are placed face up on the table. A total of five community cards will be dealt out and all the players at the table can use them to make up a strong poker hand. The player with the strongest poker hand will of course win the round and will be awarded the pot.

In order for the game to begin two players must place the big and the small blinds. The small blind will be placed by the player to the immediate left of the button. The big blind will be placed by the player to the left of the small blind. After these bets have been made, the game can begin.

The dealer will give each player at the table four cards. These cards are dealt face down and are called hole cards.

The first round of betting begins. Each player at the table will have his turn. Each of them will be able to bet, call, raise or fold. After the betting round is over, it is time for the flop.

On the flop the dealer will place three cards on the table. These cards are dealt face up and are community cards. Another round of betting will commence and all the players at the table will again get to bet, call, raise or fold. After the betting round is over, it is time for the turn.

On the turn the dealer will place one card on the table. This card will be placed face up and it is also a community card. A third round of betting will ensue. After all the players have made their poker betting decisions, it is time for the river.

On the river the dealer will place a fifth and final card on the table. This is a community card as well and will be placed face up on the poker table. It is now time for the final betting round and the showdown. This is when the winner will be decided. The poker player that has the best poker hand will win. He will get the pot and another round will begin.

Note that on the flop, turn and river the dealer will burn the top card. Burning the top card means that he will discard the top card of the deck. After that he will deal three cards on the flop, one card on the turn and one final card on the river.

As you can see there really isn’t much of a difference between Texas Hold’Em and Omaha Hold’Em. The main difference is the fact that you are dealt four hole cards and you must combine two hole cards with three community cards to make up the best possible poker hand. The best hands that you can get at the beginning of the game when playing Omaha Hold’Em are:

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  high pairs such as Ace/Ace, King/King, Queen/Queen, Jack/Jack or 10/10
  
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  ace high of the same suit such as Ace of Clubs/King of Clubs, Ace of Hearts/Queen of Hearts and so on