Omaha poker is a game that was derived from Texas Hold’em, and as such, is very similar in style. During the game, each player is dealt four "hole cards" that are private to them, and a further five community cards are dealt face-up in the center of the table. All players are required to use two of their hole cards and three of the community cards to make up the best five-card hand they can.
The dealer shuffles the standard 52-card deck, and most Omaha games start with two players to the left of the dealer placing a pre-determined amount of cash into the pot before any cards have been dealt. This is known as "posting the blinds". Generally, the "first blind", the player to the left of the dealer, will put up half of the minimum bet, whereas the "second blind" provides the full minimum bet.
Once the blinds have been posted and the players have received their "hole cards", a round of betting begins, starting with the player sitting on the left of the two who posted the blinds. Players can either fold, raise, or call when it is their turn. In poker, only one player acts at any given time, and they have three options:
After the first round of betting, the dealer removes the card at the top of the deck, and flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are known as the "flop". Then, another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the dealer's left. The dealer then burns another card, and places another face up towards the center of the table. The fourth community card is known as the "Fourth Street" or the "Turn", and the player to the dealer's left begins a third round of betting. Finally, the dealer burns another card, and places the final face-up community card on the table. This card is known as "Fifth Street" or the "River".
After all the cards have been properly placed, players can use two of their hole cards, and three of the five community cards to form the best possible hand. The final round of betting will start once again with the player towards the left of dealer. After this round of betting, all of the players still in the game must reveal their hands. The hands from worst to best are:
