How to start playing Omaha
High 8 or Better
To learn how to play any kind of poker, you need to first
learn the basic poker
hand rank rules.
Omaha 8 or Better (also known as Omaha Hi/lo) is a popular
poker game in the world. Usually there are two types of Omaha
8 or Better games played:
Limit Omaha 8 or Better (there is a specific betting limit
applied in each game and on each round of betting) Pot Limit
Omaha 8 or Better (A player can bet what is in the pot.)
The Game:
Omaha 8 or Better 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 system generates a fresh
deck of cards for the hand. Usually a single deck of cards
is used 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 iTech Labs, and its integrity
is verified daily. iTech Labs a leading independent tester
of gaming and wagering devices, to ensure that the games operate
correctly, are fair, their outcomes are not predictable and
that the system is reliable, resilient and otherwise up to
the highest standards of software integrity.
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 EmpirePoker the small blind is rounded down to the
nearest dollar. For example – at $5/$10 Omaha 8 or Better
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 8 or Better 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 8 or Better,
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 8
or Better 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 EmpirePoker 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 EmpirePoker,
please visit: http://www.EmpirePoker.com/games/disconnection_policy/index.html
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.
There is no qualifying on the "High" side - the
best high hand automatically wins half the pot and could win
the whole pot. To win the "Low" side of the pot,
however, you must qualify (which is why the game is named
Omaha "8 or Better").
To qualify for Low: It takes a five-card hand with different
numerical values from Ace through eight (with the Ace being
the lowest) to qualify for the "Low" half of the
pot. The best "Low" hand is A, 2, 3, 4, 5 (also
known as the "wheel" or "bicycle"). The
winning "Low" hand goes to the player with the lowest
high card. For example, a player with a 2,4,5,6,7 would have
a better "Low" hand than someone with an A,2,4,6,8.
If two or more players have the same high card, the player
with the second lowest card (or third, fourth, or fifth if
necessary) in their hand wins the low side of the pot.
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
Ties: In case two or more players "tie" for one
side of the pot, they will split that half into equally divided
portions. If there is an odd chip(s), it will go to the person(s)
closest to the left of the "button". (One player
winning the "High" side and two players who ties
for the "Low" side is not uncommon in Omaha 8 or
Better.)
Some things to Remember
1) Straights and Flushes do NOT count against you when qualifying
for "Low".
2) You are permitted to use different cards in your hand for
the "High" side and different cards for the "Low"
side or the same cards for both the "High" and "Low"
sides. In a split pot, any leftover odd chip goes to the "High"
side of the pot.
Key to Remember: To determine your hand(s) in Omaha 8 or
Better, you MUST play two of your four "down" cards
with three of the "up" cards (community cards).
You may play different cards for the "High" and
"Low" sides.
The suit order of the cards is not taken into account while
deciding on the winning cards.EmpirePoker 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. 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 EmpirePoker 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 Limit and Pot-Limit Omaha
8 or
Better game with a few exceptions
to the rules mentioned above:
In Limit Omaha 8 or Better 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 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.
The Betting Rules for Pot-Limit Omaha
8 or Better
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 Omaha 8 or Better will
be raked according to the chart below:
No. Of players Rake per pot Max.
2-3 $0.05 for each $1.0 in Pot $1.00
4-5 $0.05 for each $1.0 in Pot $2.00
6-9 $0.05 for each $1.0 in Pot $3.00
Note: If rake is less than $0.10, rake is zero.
A player "scoops"
the pot when they win the whole pot (which is the mission.)
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