Pot-Limit Omaha

What you are trying to do

The goal is the same as every poker game: win the pot, either at showdown with the best five-card hand or by betting until everyone folds. The difference is how the five cards are assembled.

This catches out nearly every Hold’em player in their first session, usually at the worst possible moment. Before you act, name the five cards you intend to use and count them: two of yours, three of the board.

Order of play

The structure of a hand is identical to Hold’em. Only the number of cards dealt and the betting limit differ.

1. Post the blinds and deal four cardsBlinds are posted exactly as in Hold’em, then every player receives four private cards instead of two.
2. First betting roundAction starts left of the big blind. Bets are capped at the size of the pot, which is where the format gets its name.
3. The flop, then a second betting roundThree community cards are turned together. From here on the first active player left of the button acts first.
4. The turn, then a third betting roundA fourth community card is turned. Pots grow quickly here because a pot-sized bet on the flop has already enlarged the pot.
5. The river, then the last betting roundThe fifth community card is turned and the final round of betting takes place.
6. Showdown under the two-and-three ruleEach remaining player makes a five-card hand using exactly two of their four cards and exactly three of the five community cards. No other combination is legal.

How pot-limit betting is counted

In a pot-limit game the maximum bet is the size of the pot. The part people get wrong is what counts as the pot when it is your turn to raise. The correct figure is the pot as it stands, plus all bets on the table, plus the amount you would need to call — and only then do you add your raise.

1. Start with the money already in the middle.
2. Add any bets made during this round that have not yet been pulled in.
3. Add the amount you would call.
4. That total is your maximum raise, on top of the call.

Dealers will calculate this for you on request, and in a card room it is normal to ask. Saying “pot” out loud is a legal declaration in most rooms and the dealer will then count it out.

Why draws are worth more here

With four cards, a player can hold several draws at once: a flush draw, an open-ended straight draw and a pair that could improve to three of a kind, all in the same hand. Counting outs matters more in Omaha than in any other common poker game, because a big draw can be a favourite against a made hand rather than an underdog.

• A nine-card flush draw with an open-ended straight draw has roughly fifteen outs twice — close to even money against top set.
• A hand with no draw and only one pair is usually drawing nearly dead by the river.
• Second-best flushes and straights lose enormous pots. In Omaha, “I had a flush” is not an excuse; the question is whether it was the nut flush.

This is the reason experienced Omaha players talk constantly about the nuts. On a board where a straight or flush is possible, the hand that holds it is almost always being paid off by a hand that is second best.

Rules that catch people out

• Playing the board. Impossible in Omaha. You must use two of your cards, so a board that makes a straight on its own does not give everyone a straight.
• One card to a flush. A single suited hole card is worth nothing towards a flush. You need two of that suit.
• A pair on the board. Boards pair far more often than players expect, and in a four-card game someone frequently holds the matching card. A flush is not safe on a paired board.
• Raising more than the pot. An oversized raise is corrected to the maximum legal amount rather than being allowed to stand.
• Five-card variants. Some rooms deal five or six hole cards. The two-and-three rule still applies, but the hand values climb again.

Terminology

Pot-limit

A betting format where no bet may exceed the current size of the pot.

Nut flush

The best possible flush on a board, held by the player with the ace of that suit plus one more of it.

Wrap

A straight draw using several connected hole cards, which can produce thirteen or more outs.

Blocker

A card in your hand that makes an opponent’s strong hand impossible, such as holding the ace of the flush suit.

Dangler

A fourth card that does not connect with the other three and effectively leaves you playing a three-card hand.

Hi-lo

A split-pot version, Omaha Eight-or-Better, where the lowest qualifying hand takes half the pot.

For the ranking of hands, which is identical to every other poker variant, see Poker Hand Rankings. The full word list is in the Card Game Glossary.