The rules of Omaha are identical to those of Hold'Em except that each player receives four hole cards instead of two and each player must use exactly three board cards and two hole cards to make the hand. This second difference can be confusing for beginners and players who are used to Hold'Em.
If you wish to join a poker table which is already playing Omaha, you need to put in the pot an amount equivalent to the big blind. After doing this you may join the game, and when it's your turn to be the big blind you need to bet the same amount again. You also have the possibility of waiting to join in until the position of big blind rotates to your seat. However, if you sit in a game and miss three blind rotations, you will be asked to leave the table.
Before a game of Omaha begins, the dealer position needs to be given to one of the players. A round disk called "button" picks the dealer for each hand, so that all the players around the table get to be dealers at some point of the game. The button rotates clockwise.
Once the button has chosen a dealer, "blinds" are posted. These are bets which are made before the cards are dealt to the players. The player sitting to the left of the dealer will post the "small blind", which will amount to half of the minimum bet. The player sitting left of the small blind will then post the "big blind", which will amount to the minimum bet.
Once both blinds are posted, the dealer gives out four cards, faced down, to each of the players. He gives the first card to the small blind, and the last card to himself. The player on the left of the big blind starts the first betting round. The round goes clockwise, and finishes at the big blind.
The player has the option of calling, thus matching the bet made by the big blind, raising that bet or folding and dropping out of the hand. In Limited Omaha the bets taken on the first and second rounds have a low limit minimum to them, and the bets taken on the third and fourth rounds have a high limit minimum bet.
After the first round of bets is finished, the dealer puts on the table face up three community cards also called flop. The player to the left of the dealer starts the second round of bets.
After the second round ends, a fourth community card is put face-up on the table. This card is call the "Turn" and the third round of betting takes place.
The dealer then deals out the fifth and last card, faced up, otherwise know as the "river". The number of raises which may be made at the final round is usually limited up to three or four. If, however, it's a "heads-up" play, meaning that only two players are left. then there will not be a limit to the number of raises.
Following the final bet will be a showdown. The first player to show his hand is always the last player who showed strength when making a bet. A hand of Omaha must consist of two "hole" cards, which were given to the player faced down, and three communal cards, which were set on the board face-up. After the showdown, one player will collect the pot.
Some games of Omaha are played with limits. Omaha Hi/Lo is a form of Omaha poker, in which the pot may be split between two players: the player with the highest ranking hand and the player with the lowest ranking hand. The game is also know as Omaha Eight Or Better, because a low hand should consist only of cards that rank eight or lower. If no player has a qualified low hand, the whole pot is given to the player with the highest ranking hand.
Like regular Omaha, four cards are given to the players face down and five cards are communal cards, put on the table faced up. A hand in Omaha must consist of two face down cards and three face up cards. A poker player may try and win both parts of the pot by succeeding in forming both the high hand and the low hand, using different card combinations.
