Simple To Follow, Pot Limit Omaha Poker Rules For Beginners

Game Structure

As per pot limit Omaha rules, there are two blinds. The blinds (small blind and big blind) are posted by two players to the left of the dealer before the cards are dealt.

Once the dealer is selected and the blinds are posted, each player is dealt 4 cards face-down, known as 'hole cards'. The player sitting to the left of the big-blind starts off the pre-flop betting round.

After all players have reacted to the last raise of the pre-flop round, the flop is dealt. That is, the first three community cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table. All the players share these board cards and another betting round ensues.

Two more community cards are dealt, with a betting round after each one. The 4th card is called the 'turn' and the 5th card is called the 'river'. At the conclusion of the final betting round, the round after the river, players remaining in the hand must show down their cards.

Determining The Winner

The player with the best 5 card poker hand wins the pot. Pot limit Omaha poker rules require that the winning five-card hand use exactly two hole cards and exactly three board community cards.

Betting Rules of Pot Limit Omaha Poker

Once the four hole cards are dealt each player has to decide whether to call, raise or fold. If a player chooses to call, he will be forced to put in at least the size of the big blind, assuming that there were no raises beforehand. However, if a player chooses to raise, he is allowed to raise as much as there is in the pot.

According to poker rules, the minimum eligible raise must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. I.e. if the first player to act bets $100 and the second player wants to raise, he must raise a minimum of $100.

The maximum eligible raise is the total of the active pot, all the bets on the table and the amount the active player must first call before raising. For instance, if the active pot contains $100, one player bets $20, second player calls the $20 bet, then the third player could call the $20 bet and raise by a maximum of $160.

All-in

As per the Omaha rules, if the pot reaches a size that players would be betting the rest of their chips up to the pot amount, they will be considered all-in. A side-pot is then created for players who wish to continue. At showdown, the all-in player is only eligible to win the cash that is in the main pot.