Internet Gambling .com - How to Play Omaha Hi Poker

Omaha Hi, yet another variation of poker, can be played with as many as ten players at one time. Four individual or pocket cards are dealt to each player and five community cards get placed on the table throughout the course of the game. The objective of the game is to obtain the best hand possible using two of your individual cards and three of the community cards.

So just how does a player create the best possible hand from such an arrangement? The three following scenarios will help answer this question.

Scenario 1: The player is dealt pocket cards consisting of an ace of clubs, an ace of diamonds, a king of spades and a two of hearts. The community cards are made up of an ace of hearts, a king of diamonds, a four of clubs, an eight of clubs and a six of diamonds. In this case the best combination of cards to use would be the ace of hearts, the ace of diamonds, the ace of clubs and the eight of clubs, creating a hand with three of a kind.

Scenario 2: The player is dealt pocket cards consisting of a two of spades, a ten of diamonds, a six of clubs and a four of spades. The community cards are made up of a nine of spades, a king of clubs, a queen of diamonds, a ten of spades, and a jack of diamonds. In this case the best combination of cards to use would be the king of clubs, the queen of diamonds, the ten of spades, the ten of clubs and the six of clubs, creating a hand with a pair of tens.

Scenario 3: The player is dealt pocket cards consisting of an ace of diamonds, a king of diamonds, a jack of clubs, and a ten of spades. The community cards are made up of an ace of spades, a queen of clubs, a nine of clubs, an eight of diamonds, and a two of clubs. In this case the best combination of cards to use would be the eight of diamonds, nine of clubs, ten of spades, jack of clubs and queen of clubs, creating a Q high straight.

Below is an explanation of the rules of Omaha Hi within the context of an actual game. Bear in mind that in order to win, the player must use only two of his pocket cards and three community cards. Other ranges of cards will make the player’s hand void.

Another important aspect of the game to remember is that the 'button' is used throughout the game to indicate the dealer's position if the player's are taking turns acting as the dealer. The player who is in the button position always plays last which gives him an advantage over the other players. This is why the button is always rotated, in a clockwise direction, after each hand, giving each player a chance to be in the button position.

The first step of the game involves the posting of blinds. The ‘small blind’ refers to the first bet made by the player seated directly to the left of the button. The ‘big blind’ is made by the player seated directly to the left of the player that made the small blind and is usually a proportionally higher bet than the first bet.

Each player receives four pocket cards that are not seen by any of the other players until the end of the game. After all of the players have received their four cards the first round of betting takes place. This first round of betting is called the pre-flop round and gets the game started. After the first round of betting finishes, three community cards, called the flop, are placed face up on the table. The player seated to the left of the button again begins the round of betting. After this round finishes, the fourth community card is placed face up on the table followed by a third round of betting. Next, the last community card, known as the ‘river’ or ‘Fifth Street’ is placed face up on the table and the final round of betting takes place.