Omaha High poker (also known as Omaha High) is a popular
poker game in the world. There are two types of Omaha High
games:
Limit Omaha High (there is a specific betting
limit applied in each game and on each round of
betting)
Pot Limit Omaha High (A player can bet what
is in the pot. Click
here to learn more)
And you can play these games for free (play
money) or using real money at Party Poker.com.
The Game:
Omaha High Poker uses what is called a dealer-button to
indicate the theoretical dealer of each hand. After each
hand is completed, as with standard poker rules, the
button moves clockwise to the next active player. This
player will be considered “the dealer” for that hand.
Before the start of the game, internally the
PartyPoker.com system generates a fresh deck of cards for
the hand. On PartyPoker.com, we use a single deck of cards
to play a hand of poker, where a deck refers to 52 cards
excluding the jokers. Online poker rooms use what is
called the Random Number Generator (RNG) to shuffle a deck
of cards for the hand.
How does it work?
The system generates a random set of numbers, which are
used to place a card of the deck in a particular position.
Once the complete deck is created, the deck is used for
that particular hand only. We shuffle the deck of cards
every time we start a hand, and the random numbers
previously generated are discarded and new ones generated
before the shuffle. The RNG code has been successfully
audited by BMM, Australia, and its integrity is verified
daily. BMM is one of the leading auditors of gaming
solutions in the industry.
The First round:
A fresh table starts of with the first person sitting on
the table becoming the dealer and the next player posting
the small blind. A new game on an active table starts with
the button moving clockwise to the next player. The player
next to the button / dealer is required to place the small
blind. The small blind is equal to half the lower stake.
This is a guideline for determining the blinds and not a
strict rule. At PartyPoker.com the small blind is rounded
down to the nearest dollar. For example – at $5/$10
Omaha High per the formula the small blind should be $2.5.
Instead, it is rounded of to the lower dollar, so the
small blind would post $2. However, as it is just a
guideline, the amount of small blind could be set
differently at the time of setting up the table.
The player to the left of the small blind is required to
post the big blind, equal to the lower stake limit. In a
certain scenario it is possible for more than one player
to post a big blind in a hand. This is if a new player
joins a table at which a game is already going on. The
player would get an option of placing a Big Blind at the
start of the next hand or wait for his/her turn (as
decided by the movement of the button) to place the Big
Blind in turn.
All the blinds in Omaha High poker are considered live
bets and the players who posted them will have the option
of checking, calling, raising or folding when the betting
returns to their position.
After the blinds have been placed, the down cards / hole
cards are dealt to each active player. In Omaha High, 4
cards are dealt to each of the players, after which the
first betting round starts. The player to the left of the
player who placed the big blind starts the betting for
this round.
Each player will now have the option to place his or her
bets in the first round, which is set at the lower limit
of the stakes structure. For example in a $10/$20 Omaha
High game, value of each bet is $10 for the first round.
When we say the bets are limited to $10, it refers to: a
Bet (single bet) of the value of $10, so when a user
places “BET” then it is $10, “RAISE” would be $20
– includes one additional bet and a call on the previous
bet placed by a player.
Bets can be placed by playing any of the following options
– Bet, Call and Raise. Each player will also have the
option to Fold. These options are available to each player
depending on the action taken by the previous player. The
first player (left of the Big Blind) to act (in the first
round) would get the Bet, Call and Raise options.
Subsequent players would also get the options of Call and
Raise. To Call is to bet the same as what the previous
player has bet. Raise action calls for raising whatever
was the bet/call amount of the previous player, and can be
calculated based on the value of the previous bet amount.
Every player participating in the hand should place equal
amount of bet as the previous players (includes bets,
calls and raises). Till the time all the players have
placed equal amounts in the pot, the betting will
continue. There is a limit on the amount and the number of
bets a player can place during a betting round, which also
would be considered during the hand. The numbers of bets
for a particular round of betting has been mentioned below,
please refer to the section on “Standard Rules” for
the limits on the number of bets.
After the first round of betting is over, the Flop (the
first three cards of the community) is dealt. The
community cards are common to all the players
participating in the hand.
The Second Round:
After the flop and in each subsequent betting round, the
first active player left of the button is first to act.
The second betting round also limits the value of bets and
raises to the lower limit of the stake structure. So in a
$10/$20 value of each bet is $10 for the second round.
When we say the bets are limited to $10, it refers to: a
Bet (single bet) of the value of $10, so when a user
places “BET” then it is $10, “RAISE” would be $20
– includes one additional bet and a call on the previous
bet placed by a player. Bets can be placed, by playing any
of the following options – Bet, Call and Raise. These
options are available to each player depending on the
action taken by the previous player. The first player
placing the bet would get the Bet option (the player left
to the Button). Other players will get the Call and Raise
options only.
After this the fourth community card is dealt out – this
is known as the Turn.
The Third Round:
The third betting round starts again with the player left
to the button, and bets and raises are limited to the
upper limit of the stake structure ($10/$20 game, $20
would be the upper stake). When we say the bets are
limited to $20, it refers to: a Bet (single bet) of the
value of $20, so when a user places “BET” then it is
$20, “RAISE” would be $40 – includes one additional
bet and a call on the previous bet placed by a player.
Bets can be placed by playing any of the following options
– Bet, Call and Raise. Combinations of these options are
available to the player depending on the action taken by
the previous player. The first player placing the bet
would get the Bet option (the player left to the Button).
After this the fifth community card is dealt out – this
is known as the River.
The Fourth Round:
The fourth (and final) betting round starts again with the
player left to the button, and bets and raises are limited
to the upper limit of the stake structure ($10/$20 game,
$20 would be the upper stake). When we say the bets are
limited to $20, it refers to: a Bet (single bet) of the
value of $20, so when a user places “BET” then it is
$20, “RAISE” would be $40 – includes one additional
bet and a call on the previous bet placed by a player.
Bets can be placed by playing any of the following options
– Bet, Call and Raise. Combinations of these options are
available to the player depending on the action taken by
the previous player. The first player placing the bet
would get the Bet option (the player left to the Button).
Some standard rules
A maximum of four bets, which includes one bet, and three
raises are allowed for each betting round per player. The
term cap is used to describe the final raise in a round
since betting is then capped and no one can make another
raise. Once capped, players will have the option of
calling or folding only. Folding can be done at any stage
of the game. The action of folding basically shows the
player cards being moved to the dealer. The player from
then on would not be considered as part of the game. He/she
would not have any rights over any pots created on the
table.
Apart from the fold option, a player could also get the
option of “Check”, in which the player can pass his/her
turn without placing a bet. This option would not always
be available to the player, and depends on the actions
taken by the previous player in the hand. The player HAS
TO equal the amount of bet placed by any other players for
each round in the hand.
Poker is typically played "table stakes",
meaning only the chips in play at the beginning of each
hand may be used throughout the hand. This means that the
player cannot get additional funds from the cashier while
he is in the midst of a game. The table stakes rule has an
application called the "All-In" rule, which
states that a player cannot be forced to forfeit a hand
because the player does not have enough chips to call a
bet.
Exceptions to the value of betting in each round:
A player who does not have enough chips to call a bet is
declared All-In. The player is eligible for the portion of
the pot to the point of his final wager. All further
action involving other players takes place in a "side
pot", which is unavailable to the player who has
already gone All-In. When a player goes All-in, the pot
currently at the center of the table, which has
contributions from him/her as well, is treated as the main
pot, over which the All-in player has rights. After the
player goes all-in, all the new bets are placed in a side
pot, over which only the contributing players have rights.
The All-in player does not have any rights over the side
pot. The side pot is then given to the next winning
combination.
As this is a multi player game, the players are expected
to play within a set time frame, the actions during their
turn. On PartyPoker.com we provide players with
approximately 30 seconds to play with. Initially the
player is given 10 seconds, after which there is a timer
countdown, which is displayed on the table for 20 seconds.
The user goes all-in if he has contributed some money to
the pot; otherwise his hand is folded in case he/she does
not respond in time. The system is intelligent in
detecting if the player has got disconnected or not. This
means if a players gets disconnected and reconnects back
and he has some seconds left for his turn, then he is
given an additional 20 seconds to play his turn. But if
the player is not able to connect back to the table before
the time elapses, then the player goes All-in. All-in
basically means that the player is in the game, but would
not be an active player (placing any bets). Whatever pot
is collected till this time is referred as the main pot,
and the all-in player has rights (if he wins) to this pot
only. After this the money that is bet on the table is
added to a side pot, over which the all-in player does not
have any rights (if he wins).
For more details on the disconnection policy at
PartyPoker.com, please visit:
disconnection
policy
After the final round of betting, it’s time for –
Showdown. This refers to the action of deciding who the
winner of the pot is and display of the cards from all
players (though this is optional for the player, he/she
need not show the cards). Five cards of the total of hole
and community cards (two hole cards and 3 community cards)
are to be used for deciding on the winning hands.
On the final round of betting, the player who bets first
(or checks first if no one else bets) is required to show
their cards first at the showdown. If they have the best
hand, the remaining players may/may not show their cards
as they wish. The aggressors’ hand is only turned over
first if he was the last to initiate action on the river.
There is a set rank of cards, which is used
for deciding the winning combination. To view the various
ranks that are possible, click
here
If two or more hands are the
same ranking, the winner is the one having the higher
cards. For example, a Flush with an Ace high beats a Flush
with a King high. If the poker hands remain tied, then the
highest card not being held in common (the kicker)
determines the winner.
The suit order of the cards is not taken into account
while deciding on the winning cards.PartyPoker.com follow
standard rules of poker. Should poker hands be absolutely
identical in ranking, the rule of poker pot distribution
will be split evenly between the two or more winning
players. If there is an odd chip, the winning player to
the left of the button/dealer will receive it. This
applies to both play money and poker for real money.
For all the four rounds of betting, the house based on set
rules collects a commission, which is known as the rake in
poker terminology. The rules set at PartyPoker are:
ALL LIMIT MONEY GAMES will be raked according to the chart
below:
Limit
Number of
Players
Pot Size
Rake
$0.50/$1.00
2 - 10
$5
$0.50
and $1/$2
$12
$0.75
$20
$1.00
$2/$4
2 - 3
$20
$1.00
4 - 5
$20
$1.00
thru
$30
$1.50
$10/$20
$40
$2.00
6 - 10
$20
$1.00
$30
$1.50
$40
$2.00
$50
$2.50
$60
$3.00
$15/$30
2 - 3
$40
$1.00
4 - 5
$40
$1.00
thru
$55
$1.50
$30/$60
$70
$2.00
6 - 10
$40
$1.00
$55
$1.50
$70
$2.00
$85
$2.50
$100
$3.00
The game play remains same for both
No-Limit and Pot-Limit Omaha High game with a few
exceptions to the rules mentioned above:
In Limit Omaha High a maximum of four bets is allowed per
player during any betting round. This includes a (1) bet,
(2) raise, (3) re-raise, and (4) cap, but in No-Limit and
Pot-Limit there is no limit to the number of raises that a
player can make. The only criteria being that you cannot
raise yourself, (i.e. if a player bets during a betting
round, then that player would have to be raised by another
player in order for him/her to be able to re-raise). If
all the other players in the hand only call or fold, the
player would not get an option to raise, because the last
raise was done by him/her.
Betting Structure for No-Limit
Omaha High
Minimum raise: The raise amount must be at least
as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round.
As an example, if the first player to act bets $100 then
the second player must raise a minimum of $100 (total
bet of $200).
Maximum eligible raise: The size of your stack (your
chips on the table)
The Betting Rules
for Pot-Limit Omaha High
Minimum eligible raise: The raise amount must be
at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the
same round. As an example, if the first player to act
bets $100 then the second player must raise a minimum of
$100 (total bet of $200).
Maximum eligible raise: The size of the pot: The
size of the pot is defined as the total of the active
Pot (which can be either the main pot or the side pot
depending on whether anyone has gone “all-in”) plus
all bets on the table plus the amount the active player
must first call before raising.
As an example, if the active pot is $200 and
the first player to act in the round bets $150 and the
next player calls $150, the third player has a maximum
eligible total bet of $800. The $800 total is made up of
the $150 call and $650 raise.
The $650 max raise portion is equal to the pot of $200 +
first player's $150 + second player's $150 + his own call
of $150.
Pot-Limit and No-Limit Games will be raked
according to the chart below:
