Omaha Poker - Popular Poker Variant

Omaha poker which is also known as Omaha holdem or simply Omaha, is one of the most popular & preferable variant of poker card game. It belongs to the family of community card poker & is available in various formats like Omaha hi-lo, Omaha/8, pot limit Omaha etc. It is famous as “the game of nuts” in the poker world.

History-

The exact origin of the game is still a mystery. However, it is believed that Robert Turner, a n American professional player, first brought Omaha in the poker circuit when he introduced the game to Bill Boyd, who offered it as a game at the Golden Nugget Casino, Las Vegas and named it as "Nugget Hold'em". 

How to play-

• Omaha uses one standard 52-card French deck. It can be playerd by 2-9 players. The deal moves clockwise. In this game, each player is dealt four hole cards.
• The best hand can be made by using exactly two hole cards & three community cards. Once, all players are dealt cards; the betting round starts with the player sitting to the left of the dealer.
• The betting rounds are categorized as – preflop, flop, turn, river and showdown.
• In preflop round, each player has the option to fold, call the previous bet or raise it. Betting continues until all the active players have placed equal bets in the pot. Players who put big blinds and small blinds also get chance to call/raise.
• In the next round, first three community cards are dealt face up on the table and are available to all players. Betting for the flop round begins. The first player to act is the player who puts the small blind. The rules of betting are same as previous round.
• After the completion of flop, the turn round starts wherein the fourth community card is dealt face up on the table. The betting round starts and the deal moves clockwise.
• Now starts the river round, wherein, the fifth community card is dealt face up on the table. The betting amount is controlled by the bet limits and is adjusted accordingly. 
• Finally, all players have to show their cards one by one and the player with the best hand is declared as the winner. If somehow two players win the game then the pot is divided equally among them.

Omaha poker is a fun-filled game. You can imagine what happens when you have to work on four cards rather than two. The gaming experience becomes more intense and thrilling. You don’t need to be a genius of mathematical concepts to win. All you need is a bit of concentration & careful observation. So start playing now!