Omaha Rules 4 Of A Kind

Each player is dealt four cards face down, as opposed to the two cards that are dealt in Texas Hold'em. That is the first variation. Five community cards are then dealt. The second noticeable difference from Texas Hold'em is the fact that the players must choose two of their four cards and are required to use both of them in order to make the best hand possible.

• Four-of-a-Kind is second on the list of standard poker hand rankings and consists of four cards of the same rank. The best 4-of-a-Kind hand is made up of four Aces: A ♥ A ♠ A ♦ A ♣. In this hand ranking, it’s the rank or the denomination that’s most important. For instance, J ♥ J ♠ J ♦ J ♣ is a Four-of-a-Kind hand that beats any of the lower ranked hands, like 4-of-a-Kind Tens, Nines, and so on.
• Let's look at one example. A player holding A♥Q♣7♦6♦ looks at a board of 9♥4♥2♣J♥Q♥ thinking he has made the nuts with an ace-high flush. That's a mistake. The Omaha poker rules.
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• Before each player is dealt four down cards (1.) the player at the immediate left of the button, called the 'Small Blind' is forced to bet $1 (half the minimum bet). Then the player to his left and two seats to the left of the button, called the 'Big Blind', is forced to bet $2. Each player is then dealt a four card hand.

Objective

Playing a Hand of Omaha Hi-Lo

Hand Rankings

It's necessary to split up our hand rankings into two parts here. The hi-card hands and the lo-card hands. The hi-hands are exactly the same as in Omaha-hi and are as follows.

Omaha High-Hands

Omaha Low Hands

• Flushes and straights do not count against our hand. The nut lo-hand is therefore A,2,3,4,5. Remember that we must use exactly two of our hole-cards for the lo-hand also. These don't have to be the same 2-cards that we use for the hi-hand however. So if we hold AQJK, and the board is 2,3,4,5,Q we do not have the nut-low and we do not have a straight for a decent hi-hand. We actually have pair of Queens and no low-hand.
• Aces are always lowunlike in other variants such as 2-7 triple draw. If we struggle to read lo-hands, we simply should think of them as a number. For example it's a common beginners mistake to assume that A,2,3,4,7 is a better hand than 2,3,4,5,6. If we read them backwards as numbers – I.e 74,321 and 65,432 it should be pretty easy to see that the second hand is lower and therefore stronger. We can refer to the first hand as a 7-low and the second hand as a 6-low. The nuts, A,2,3,4,5 is referred to as the “nut low”.
• Suits are not relevant to the strength of our hand unlike other variants such as Stud. Equivalent hi-hands will chop the high pot regardless of the suits contained.
• Low hands must “qualify”. In order for a low hand to “qualify” it needs to contain 5 cards below an 8. Remember that only two of these can be from our hole-cards. This means that it is impossible for anyone to have a qualifying low hand if there are not at least 3 cards below an 8 on the board. In such situations Omaha-hi/lo plays like the regular Omaha-hi. There is no low pot awarded and the best hi-hand scoops the entire pot.

Omaha Rules 4 Of A Kindle Fire

Betting Structure

Why Play Omaha-8?

• Omaha-8 is hugely challenging, even when it comes to simple things like understanding the strength of our hand. This can be complicated enough in the Omaha-hi variant when we have a wrap and flush-draws going on at the same. Now imagine this situation but we are also at the same time calculating what our current low-hand is or our percentage chance we will hit our low-draw. Initially we may even feel that playing a single-table of this variant takes our full focus and concentration.
• Due to the challenging nature of Omaha-8 games, the competition is relatively soft. Very few players understand good strategy – and many do not even understand fully how to read the strength of their hand. Some are even surprised that they have chopped the pot with someone since they thought they were playing Omaha-hi.
• Omaha-8 is a lot lower variance than hold'em or Omaha. This is to do with the split-pot nature of the game. In the majority of showdown situations we are not going to be losing the entire pot. We will often end up splitting or quartering the pot. This means that going on prolonged downswings is less likely assuming that we have a winning strategy. As a result we can get away with lighter bankroll requirements and play higher stakes. Low variance, soft-games, a fun challenge. What more could we want!

Omaha-8 Pointers

• Play to Scoop! - The number one beginner mistake in this game is that players are aiming to win only one of the two pots. They'll typically decide each round whether they are trying to make a hi-card hand or a lo-card hand. This is not going to be a winning strategy in the long run. Our objective is to scoop both pots as much as possible.
• Starting Hands – Some of the hands that are decent starting hands in Omaha-hi are actually not decent starting hands in Omaha-8. Firstly we are looking to play hands that contain an Ace and a Two in most cases, to maximise our chances of making the nut-low. Something like As2sAd3d would be an excellent starting hand. Notice how we have nut-flush potential in 2 suits and also excellent nut-low potential.
• Avoid Mid-Rundowns – Rundowns are excellent starting hands in Omaha-hi. For example 6s7s8d9d. These are horrible hands in Omaha-8. In many cases to make a decent straight with this hand it means that there is likely to be a qualifying low available. So we can basically never win the entire pot. Even though such a hand can qualify for a low-hand it's rarely going to be the best low-hand since it will usually be an Seven-Six-low.
• Counterfeiting – It's useful to be aware of this concept since we can get into trouble if not. Let's say we hold A2 and the board texture is 8,7,5. We have the absolute best nut-low. A,2,5,7,8. However let's the say the turn card comes a 2. We have now been counterfeited. Why is this? Our absolute hand-strength has not changed, but our relative hand-strength has changed. If opponent has A3 he now has A,2,3,5,7 for Seven-low which will beat our A,2,5,7,8 for Eight-low. Holding A23x on the 8,7,5 board gives us counterfeit protection, because if that 2 falls we still hold the nut-low.

The game basics and strategies for how to play Omaha Poker shown here are those generally agreed to and recommended by the experts for bet limit games. An understanding of these basics is needed for all levels of competitive play. Solid intermediate and expert level poker normally requires study of the advanced game tactics and significant hours of actual casino or online playing experience.

Limit Omaha Poker Rules - 2 to 10 Players

• Highest hand wins
• Players MUST use TWO of their hole cards combined with three from the board to make their hands
• Ace plays both high and low for straights
• Three raise limit per round
• Cards speak

The image below depicts the card distribution and betting procedure for Omaha Holdem.

How to play $2/$4 Omaha with a double blind:

At casino Omaha tables, a round plastic marker called the dealer 'button' is placed in front of the player who would be dealing if a house dealer were not provided. The button is moved one seat clockwise after each game and the card distribution and betting starts to the left of that position.

Each player is dealt four cards face down. Then, a total of five community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table in three betting segments (3-1-1). After all the cards are dealt the players make the best hand that they can by combining any two of their two hole cards with any three of the five community cards.

Using the illustration above, a player holding a jack and an eight would end up with the best possible full house, jacks over eights. However, this good hand can be beaten if another player is holding the 'nut hand' cards of six and seven of hearts that would make an eight high straight flush.

The betting procedure goes like this:

Before each player is dealt four down cards (1.) the player at the immediate left of the button, called the 'Small Blind' is forced to bet $1 (half the minimum bet). Then the player to his left and two seats to the left of the button, called the 'Big Blind', is forced to bet $2. Each player is then dealt a four card hand. Then the player at the left of the big blind is first to act and he must either call the big blind's $2 bet, raise, or fold his hand. Continuing in turn clockwise, all the players around the table either call, raise or fold.

When the betting gets back around to the small blind, he or she can fold and lose only the half minimum bet of $1 placed earlier, call the amount necessary to get up to the betting level or raise $2 if there is a raise left.

The big blind is then the last to act before any cards are turned up in the middle. The blinds are played in the first round only.

(2.) The dealer turns three cards up in the center of the table. This is the 'Flop'. The player at the left of the button is then always the first to act. There are no more forced bets and the players can all check around if they want to. Bets right after the flop are at the $2 minimum bet level.

(3.) Now comes the 'Turn' card followed by more betting that now goes to the $4 level.

(4.) Finally the last, or 'River' card is turned up. The last $4 betting round takes place. Then the players still in the contest reveal their hole cards and the highest hand wins the pot.

General Strategy

In full ring, limit Omaha, it usually takes the 'nut' hand, or something close to that, to win! For our purpose here, we describe the 'nut' as a hand that can only be beaten by hidden quads and straight flushes. These killer hands are usually referred to as the 'pure' nuts. Two pair and trips don't win very often in this game. You need to shoot for the nut straight, nut flush, or nut full house most of the time.

This is why Omaha players all start with four cards. Each four card hand contains six Hold'em hands when the four cards are converted to all possible combinations of two. i.e. ABCD = AB AC AD BC BD CD (Players must play two cards from their hands and three from the board). If you are in a pot with five other players after the flop, it is sort of comparable to a Texas Hold'em game against thirty other players, because each of your five competitors is holding six Hold'em hands instead of one.

So if you get down to the river with a very good hand, but one that can be beaten by some other two card combinations, brace yourself for a loss because they are likely to be out there somewhere. Your high end straight on the flop runs into serious problems when the board turns up three suited cards or a pair. A flush or a full house will usually pop up to beat you. In Omaha, always play for the NUT!

Just one or two good hold'em hands is usually not a very good starting hand in Omaha but many players cannot resist the urge to play them. With four cards to choose from, these kinds of hands are easy to get and Omaha games normally have more players and bigger pots than in Hold'em. The higher payoffs work to your advantage when you usually start with hands that contain four cards that all interact with each other to make about five or six decent Hold'em hands instead of only one or two.

You will see a few exceptions to this here in the starting hands strategy.

Definitions

High Cards

A, K, Q, J, 10

Middle Cards

9, 8, 7, 6

Low Cards

5, 4, 3, 2

Suited Player Hand(s)

Two of the players four cards of the same suit.

Double Suited Player Hand(s)

Two of the players cards of one suit and two of another suit.

Active Sidecard

Sidecard that when combined with another makes two parts of a straight or flush.

Nut Hand

An unbeatable high or low hand. Sometimes called a 'lock'.

Set

Three of a kind with two of the three in your hand. (Four of a kind split two and two is a 'Quad Set')

Trips

Three of a kind with all or two of the three on the board.

Rainbow

Hand or flop etc. with cards of all different suits.

Flop Turn River

The community cards in the order of distribution. See top illustration.

Fast Play

Bet, raise and re-raise to get as many other players out as possible.

Slow Play

Just check or call along to keep other players in the game to increase the pot odds.

Check-fold

Check when you can and fold if you are bet into. Gladly accept all free cards offered.

The Best Omaha Starting Hand

This top ranked Omaha hand contains 4 Premium and 2 Strong Holdem hands:
Note: In this case, the 2 'Strong' hands do not add value.

Your starting Play/Fold decisions will involve a quick assessment of the hand type and the six Hold'em hands in your four card Omaha hand. The playable starting hands suggested are a good place to start. These are not hard and fast rules about what to play or not, but a generalization of expert opinions and computerized hand value results that you can use as a guide.

Two Card Hold'em Hands to Look For in Omaha Hands

4 Of A Kind In Omaha

Premium Hands

High Pair - AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010
Ace and High Card Suited - AK(S), AQ(S), AJ(S), A10(S)

Strong Hands

High Cards Suited - KQ(S), KJ(S), K10(S), QJ(S), Q10(S), J10(S)
Middle Pairs - 99, 88, 77, 66
Two High Cards - AK, AQ, AJ, A10, KQ, KJ, K10, QJ, Q10, J10
Ace and Middle Card Suited - A9(S), A8(S), A7(S) A6(S)
Middle Suited Connectors - 10 9(S), 98(S), 87(S), 76(S)

Omaha Rules 4 Of A Kind

Minimum Hands

Omaha Rules Four Of A Kind

Low Pairs - 55, 44, 33, 22
Ace and Low Card Suited - A5(S), A4(S), A3(S), A2(S)
Any Two Cards to a Straight - i.e. 10 6, 98, 75, 73, A4 - Note: Most in this category are normally not playable in regular Holdem, but they do add value in combination Omaha hands.

Throw-Away Starting Hands

These hands should be automatically folded without any further consideration:
Quads - (including) A A A A
Trips - (except A A A with a high side card suited is sometimes playable)

Playable Omaha Starting Hands

Pair of Aces - A A x x
Pair of Kings - K K x x
High Pair and Ace Suited - Qh Qs Ah x .. Jh Js Ad 6d
High Pair and Middle / Low Pair - J J 7 7 .. Q Q 4 4
High Pair and Two or more Other Hands - J J 9 7 .. K 10 10 8
Any Four High Cards - K Q J 10 .. A K J 10 .. Q Q 10 10 .. A J J 10 .. (includes two high pair)
Three High Cards w Ace Suited - Ah Qs 10h x .. Ah Ks Jd 5h
Three High Cards and Active Sidecard - K Q J 8 .. Ah Qs 10d 4h
Three Card Straight with a Pair - 7 6 5 5 .. 9 8 7 8 .. 6 5 4 6
Three Card Straight and an Ace Suited - 8h 7s 6d Ah .. Ah 9s 8d 7h
Close Group with Two Gaps or Less - J 10 7 6 .. 8 7 6 5 .. 9 8 5 4.. 9 7 6 4 .. J 10 8 6

Strategy Tips

• Stay aware of the nut hand possibilities. As the board develops, make sure that you always know what the three best hand possibilities are, and how that might change on the next card.
• High pair with an overcard is a good flop in Hold'em but not in Omaha. In this game you need to flop two pair, a set, or better.
• Usually don't raise before the flop unless you are holding Aces or Kings and are in position to narrow the field. Another time to raise is when you are unraised on the button and have a strong hand. Try not to let the blinds play bad hands cheap.
• Fold your straight or straight draw if that's all you have and you don't flop an unpaired rainbow. If you do get the right kind of flop, bet/raise to discourage the back door flush draws.
• Don't over value low pairs. A pair of fours in your starting hand is only useful if it flops a set, but then a low set on the flop is not a very strong hand in Omaha.
• Study your opponents, especially when you are not playing hands and can pay careful attention. Do they find more hands to play than they fold? Do they bluff? Can they be bluffed? Do they have any 'tells' (give away mannerisms) that disclose information about their hands etc.
• Get caught bluffing once in a while. It is a way to vary your play and not be too predictable. You win pots that you don't deserve when your bluff works. You lose a few chips when it doesn't work but it will get you calls from weaker hands down the line when you are really strong and need the action.
• Check the raisers chips. Players that are close to all-in often rush the betting just to get all their chips in a sink-or-swim last hand that doesn't merit a raise.

Omaha Rules 4 Of A Kindergarten

Have fun and GOOD LUCK!