Poker Rules

Poker is a card game in which players bet into a communal pot during the course of a hand, and in which the player holding the best hand at the end of the betting wins the pot.

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The Basics

In hold’em, players receive two downcards as their personal hand (holecards), after which there is a round of betting. Three board cards are turned simultaneously (called the flop) and another round of betting occurs. The next two board cards are turned one at a time, with a round of betting after each card. The board cards are community cards, and a player can use any five-card combination from among the board and personal cards. A player can even use all of the board cards and no personal cards to form a hand ("play the board"). A dealer button is used. The usual structure is to use two blinds, but it is possible to play the game with one blind, multiple blinds, an ante, or combination of blinds plus an ante.

1. Opening deal – Each player is dealt two cards face down, which are known as hole cards or pocket cards.

2. First round of betting – Starting with the player to the left of the big blind, each player can call the big blind, raise, or fold. The big blind has the option to raise an otherwise unraised pot.

3. The flop – The dealer burns a card, and then deals three community cards face up. The first three cards are referred to as the flop, while all of the community cards are collectively called the board.

4. Second round of betting – Starting with the player to the left of the dealer button, each player can check or bet. Once a bet has been made, each player can raise, call, or fold.

5. The turn – The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fourth card face-up to the community cards. This fourth card is known as the turn card, or fourth street.

6. Third round of betting – It follows the same format as the second round, but the size of the bets have usually doubled in limit games.

7. The river – The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fifth and final card to the community cards. This fifth card is known as the river card, or fifth street.

8. Final round of betting – It follows the same format as the second and third rounds.

9. The showdown – Using the best five-card combination of their hole cards and the community cards, the remaining players show their hands, with the bettor or last raiser showing first. The highest five-card hand wins the pot. (In case of a tie, the pot is evenly split among the winning hands.)

Omaha is similar to hold’em in using a three-card flop on the board, a fourth board card, and then a fifth board card. Each player is dealt four hole cards (instead of two) at the start. To make a hand, a player must use precisely two hole cards with three board cards. The betting is the same as in hold'em. At the showdown, the entire four-card hand should be shown to receive the pot.

The best possible five-card poker hand, using exactly two hole cards and three community cards, wins the pot.

1. The dealer deals each player four cards face down (hole cards or pocket cards)

2. First betting round.

3. The dealer burns a card, then turns over three community cards face up (the flop)

4. Second betting round.

5. The dealer burns another card, then turns over one more community card (the turn, fourth street)

6. Third betting round.

7. The dealer burns another card, then turns over one final community card (the river, fifth street )

8. Last betting round.

9. Showdown. (Every remaining player shows hand. with first bettor or last raiser showing first.)

All remaining players must use their two pocket cards and the three board cards.

Note.  - All the rules of hold’em apply to Omaha except the rule on playing the board, which is not possible in Omaha (because you must use two cards from your hand and three cards from the board).

1. check: a bet of zero that does not forfeit interest in the pot

2. bet or raise: a nonzero bet greater than preceding bets that all successive players must match or exceed or else forfeit all interest in the pot

3. call: a bet equal to a preceding bet(s) that maintains a player's interest in the pot

4. fold: a surrender of interest in the pot in response to another player's bet, accompanied by the loss of one's cards and previous bets

Betting proceeds in a circle until each player has either called all bets. 

The player with the best hand wins the pot.

Suits are not used to break ties, nor are cards beyond the fifth; only the best five cards in each hand are used in the comparison. In the case of a tie, the pot is split equally among the winning hands.  In situations where the pot can not be split evenly the player to the dealers left is awarded the additional chip (must be the smallest value in the game).

Omaha 8/b is played with a standard 52-card deck and as many as 10 participants. A dealer "button" is used to indicate the position of the player who would be dealing the cards if the players were actually dealing the cards themselves. The player holding the button acts last and thus has a positional advantage that remains throughout the hand. After each hand, the button is moved one position clockwise, so that all players in the game have, after a full round, had exactly the same number of opportunities to hold positional advantage.

The two players on the button's immediate left must post "blind" bets...that is, amounts they place in the pot before they see their cards. Typically, the player in the very first position posts a blind bet one-half the size of the player in the second position, although in some games, the first bet (called the "small blind") may be as little as one-third or as much as two-thirds the size of the second bet (called the "big blind").

All participants are now dealt four cards face down. These are pocket cards and belong exclusively to their "owners," and are not seen by the other players at any time until the showdown at the end of the hand. A round of betting takes place at this point, which is called "before the flop" or "pre-flop."

Once the pre-flop betting is complete, the three cards are dealt face-up. These are "community" cards that belong to everyone, and these three cards are called "the flop."

A second round of betting follows. In the second betting round, the player closest to the left of the button, who is still in the hand, acts first. After everyone places his or her bets, a 4th community card is dealt which is called the "Turn" card, or "Fourth Street."

After the third round of betting concludes, the dealer reveals the fifth and final community card, called "the River," or "Fifth Street," which leads to a final round of betting.

At the end of the final round of betting, any players still remaining in the hand turn their cards over. If at any point during the hand, one player makes a bet that all others decline to call, the hand is over immediately, and the player who made the final wager takes the pot without the need to show his or her cards. The player who can assemble the best five-card high hand wins half of the pot. The player who can assemble the best qualifying five-card low hand wins the other half of the pot. If there is no qualifying low hand, the high hand winner is awarded the entire pot. It is feasible for a single player to win both the high hand and the low hand pots.

Qualifying Low Hands

Qualifying low hands consist of five cards with different numerical values from Ace to Eight (thus 8 or "better"). If more than one player meets this criteria, the player with the lowest high card will win the low hand pot. (e.g. Ah, 2d, 5c, 6c 7d BEATS Ac, 2c, 6d, 7h, 8d. Straights and flushes do not count against a low hand however, since all cards need to have different numerical values, a pair is not eligible.

Something to keep in mind: Since players must use 3 community cards to make a low hand, if there are not 3 community cards with values of 8 or less, it is not possible for a qualifying low hand to occur during that game.

Split Pots

The potential for split pots in Omaha 8/b is greater than in other limit games. First, if a game has both a high hand and a qualifying low hand at the showdown, the pot will be split between the winning hands. It could be split further if multiple players have the same hand evaluation for either the high hand and/or the low hand. And then, just imagine what could happen if there are multiple all-ins during the hand!

Example Hand Evaluation for Omaha

To make their best hand in Omaha 8/b, players are allowed to use exactly 2 pocket cards and exactly 3 community cards for their best high hand and potentially 2 completely different pocket cards and a different combination of 3 community cards for their best low hand.

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