Omaha Hold’em is one of the most popular poker variants after Texas Hold'em. The main key difference is that each player is dealt not two, but four hole cards (private cards), but to make a final hand, the player must use exactly two cards from their hand and exactly three community cards from the board.

The game proceeds in several stages, and the winner is the player who makes the best five-card hand (using strictly two of their own cards and three community cards) or forces all opponents to fold. This player wins all the bets made by the participants of the hand (the pot).

ℹ️ General Information

The game uses a standard 52-card deck with standard ranking (from deuce to ace). The Ace has one feature: it can act as both the highest and the lowest card (more details in the descriptions of the "Straight" and "Straight Flush" hands). Suits are not ranked.

📌  The Most Important Hand Formation Rule

From the seven available cards (four hole cards + five community cards), a player must choose for their final poker hand exactly two hole cards and exactly three community cards. You cannot use one or three hole cards, or all four.

♠️ Hand Rankings

The hand rankings in Omaha are the same as in Texas Hold'em. However, due to the larger number of hole cards, strong hands (like Full Houses, Four of a Kind, and Flushes) are formed much more frequently, making the game more dynamic and aggressive.

Hands in descending order of strength:

• Royal Flush: The five highest cards of the same suit (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten).
• Straight Flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit.
• Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank and one kicker.
• Full House: Three cards of one rank and a pair of another rank.
• Flush: Any five cards of the same suit (not in sequence).
• Straight: Five consecutive cards of mixed suits.
• Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank and two kickers.
• Two Pair: Two different pairs of cards of the same rank and one kicker.
• One Pair: Two cards of the same rank and three kickers.
• High Card: A hand with no matching cards, consisting of one high card and four kickers.

If two or more players have hands of the same rank, the winner is determined by the kicker—the highest-ranking card not used in the main combination. You can read more in the dedicated article: Kicker.

If the hands and all relevant kickers are identical, the players have equal strength, and they split the pot equally.

During betting rounds, players can bet, raise, call, or fold. Making the right decision at the right time is crucial for success in poker.

The main types of betting actions are:

• Blind: A forced bet that one or two players must make before the cards are dealt. Blinds ensure there is money to play for in every hand. They are divided into the small blind and the big blind.
• Bet: The first voluntary wager in a betting round. The minimum bet is at least the size of the big blind.
• Raise: Increasing the size of an existing bet made by a previous player in the same round. The minimum raise must be at least the amount of the previous bet or raise in that round.
• All-in: A bet of all the chips a player has in front of them. If other players have more chips, a side pot may be created.

Other actions:

• Call: Matching the current highest bet to stay in the hand.
• Check: Declining to bet when no one has made a bet in the current round, passing the action to the next player. Checking is only possible if no bet has been placed yet.
• Fold: Discarding your hole cards and forfeiting any claim to the pot, ending your involvement in the current hand.