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So, Here’s Introducing Five-Card Pot-Limit Omaha! Learn It In 5 Minutes! Go-

• Pot Limit Omaha Poker Rules
• Pot Limit Omaha Betting Rules
• Pot Limit Omaha High Low Rules
• Pot Limit Omaha 8 Or Better Rules

Omaha High/Low rules are very similar to the rules of regular Omaha with only one exception: a pot is split equally between the best High and the best Low hands. A player is considered a winner if he has the best High hand. However, a player having the best low hand consisting of 5 cards of different values ranked 8 or lower can win half a pot. In Pot Limit Omaha rules you are dealt 4 cards instead of 2. Here is an example hand: Like in Hold ’em the object is to make the best 5 card hand but unlike in NLHE you must use exactly 2 cards from your hand and 3 from the board (the community cards).

Learn How To Play 5-Card PLO In 5 Minutes

After Texas Holdem, Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) is perhaps the most played poker game in the world. Since its introduction in the online poker room, the standard 4-Card PLO has been such a huge success that people have come up with different iterations of online Omaha poker games. Enter 5-Card PLO

Like 4-Card PLO, 5-Card PLO is played with Pot-Limit rules: this means that the maximum bet amount permitted is the total size of the pot. The rules of Five-Card PLO is also the same as 4-Card Omaha games with the only exception of an extra hole card dealt to each player at the table. So, in 5-Card PLO, players receive 5 hole cards and must make the best hand possible using 2 hole cards and 3 community cards.

Pot-Limit Omaha has always been a game of nuts. Pocket Aces or Kings rarely win any hand, but, 5-Card PLO is even harder since even straights and flushes are fairly commonplace. The ranges played by a player should be tighter since all players have 5 cards and chasing straights and flushes should always to the nuts (even this doesn’t guarantee a winning hand).

Even though bluffing in PLO is comparatively lesser than Texas Holdem, there is even less bluffing taking place in 5-Card PLO. Also, bankroll management is of crucial importance in 5-Card PLO since the variance is greater than its standard counterpart and much, much higher than Texas Holdem poker.

PRO TIP: Always Draw To The Nuts!

Pot Limit Omaha Poker Rules

How to Play 5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha

The rules are the same as 4-Card PLO – every player is dealt five cards face down with five community cards being placed on the table (whose value is shown as the round progresses). Each player has to make the best five-card combination from among the board and personal cards and bet on the same. But, unlike Texas Holdem Poker, in 5 Card PLO, players can’t use all five cards, and each player has to choose exactly two of the five-hole cards along with three of the community cards to make the best possible five-card hand.

• • The Opening Deal
    • The dealer deals five cards (hole cards) facedown to every player on the table, starting from his/her left.
  • 1st Round of Betting
    • The player to the left of the Big Blind starts the betting, putting money in the pot. All players are given the opportunity to call the bet, raise or fold. In PLO games, there is a set limit to the betting structure and the maximum players can bet is the total size of the pot.
  • The Flop
    • The dealer deals three community cards face-up on the table
  • 2nd Round of Betting
    • Every player has the option to check, raise or fold. If a raise is made, other players need to call the bet or fold (or raise). If a raise is made, the betting continues. Again, the maximum bet allowed is the total size of the pot.
  • Turn
    • The dealer deals one more community card (the fourth card) on the table.
  • 3rd Round of Betting
    • Once again, every player has the option to check, raise or fold. If a raise is made, other players need to call the bet or fold (or raise). If a raise is made, the betting continues.
  • River
    • The dealer deals the fifth & final community card on the table
  • Final Round of Betting
    • Once again, every player has the option to check, raise or fold. If a raise is made, other players need to call the bet or fold (or raise). If a raise is made, the betting continues.
  • Showdown
    • The players who haven’t folded open their hole cards in turn clockwise around the table. The player with the highest hand wins the pot.

Remember: Unlike NLHE games, you cannot bet any amount you want in PLO. In pot-limit games, the maximum amount that a player can bet in PLO games is the total size of the pot. The same rule applies for Five-Card Pot-Limit Omaha games. The maximum amount you can bet is easily calculated:

[amount required to call big blind/last bet] + [amount in pot after calling big blind/last bet]

5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha – Hand Rankings

The hand rankings in Pot-Limit Omaha poker games is the same as Texas Holdem poker – Pair beats High Card, Two Pairs beat a Pair, Three of a Kind beat Two Pairs, Straight beats Three of a Kind, Flush beats a Straight, Full House beats Flush, Four of a Kind beats Full House, Straight Flush beats Four of a Kind & Royal Flush beats them all!

So, the hand ranking in 5 Card PLO is the same as 4-Card PLO. Just in case, here’s a quick recap of the different hand rankings:

You are now ready to play 5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha Poker! Check out the online poker tables @ Pocket52
Get, Set, GO!

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The Many Differences Between Texas Holdem and Pot-Limit Omaha Poker

Omaha Hold'em, 8 or better high-low split was in definite need of shortening, so poker players commonly refer to it as Omaha/8 or Omaha hi/lo. As with any other game of poker, the rules are mostly simple, but mastering the game requires a talented, relentless student. Omaha is also thought to be the game of the future, with its popularity growing very quickly, and already outgrowing many 7 card stud populations. In fact, the most populated omaha 8b games are found online these days. Full Tilt Poker has the best Omaha hi/lo 8b games, with a combination of good player population and lots of big name pros to watch at $1000/$2000 limits and higher. Absolute Poker has fewer players, but their Omaha hi/lo 8b pot limit games are very loose at the lower levels.

Qualifying Low hands

In Omaha hi/lo, the pot can be a split pot if there is a qualifying low hand. To qualify as a low hand, the player must have five unpaired cards that are 8 or lower. An ace counts as the lowest card in a qualifying low hand, and flushes and straights do not effect the low value. The best 'low' hand would be an ace through five straight (A2345). This hand is commonly called the 'Bicycle.' It is entirely possible for a player to have the best low and best high hand. Take for example a player has A2456, all of spades. He has a spade flush as a high and and an Ace through 6 low hand. Players can even use different cards in their hand to make a separate low and high hand. If a player has both the best high and best low hand, he wins the entire pot, also called 'scooping' the pot.

The Blinds and Dealer Button

Omaha is a fixed position game, like Texas Hold'em. Position is determined by who currently is sitting behind the dealer chip or button. The dealer chip moves clockwise around the table after each hand. The dealer has the advantage of acting last on every round except for the first, and wise poker players know the advantage this brings. Also like Texas Hold'em, we use blind bets to get the pot started. The first player to the left of the dealer puts in the small blind, which is usually half of the big blind. The player to the left of the small blind is required to put in the big blind, and this is generally equal to the small bet at the particular limit being played. For example, in a $10/$20 game of Omaha, the small blind would be $5 and the big blind $10.

The initial deal is where we see the major difference between Omaha and Texas Hold'em. In Omaha, each player is dealt four cards face down instead of two. However, only two of these cards are allowed to be used in creating the players hand. This must be kept in mind as the hand progresses! The four down cards is the greatest stimulant for action for the Omaha variation of poker, as it is not hard to find a nice hand when you are dealt 4 cards.

After everyone is dealt 4 cards face down, the player to the left of the big blind must either call the big blind, fold or raise. Each player acts in turn, folding, calling, raising or re-raising. The blinds are considered 'live,' meaning that when the action gets to them in the first round of betting they can also fold, bet or raise.

The Flop

When betting action is completed on the first round, chips are raked into the pot and the dealer places 3 cards face up in the middle of the table. These are community cards, used by all players to create their best hand. Again, do not forget that you must use exactly 2 cards from your hand and three cards from the community board to create your best five card hand! A round of betting begins, starting with the player to the left of the dealer button.

The Turn

After betting action has concluded on the flop, another card is placed face up in the center of the table, called the Turn. This card is also a community card. Bets double on the Turn. In our game of $10/$20, while $10 bets were made before, we now have to be or raise $20 at a time.

The River

The final community card is placed face up in the center of the table, and the final round of betting takes place. We again use double bets on this round.

Pot Limit Omaha Betting Rules

Showdown

Pot Limit Omaha High Low Rules

When all bets are equalized on the River, a showdown occurs and the last player to make a bet or raise must turn over his down cards, revealing his best five card hand. If there was no betting on the final round, the first player still active to the immediate left of the dealer must show his hand. Each player in turn can either turn over his cards to reveal a better (or worse) hand, or muck his cards face down if he is the loser. Each player has to use exactly two of his hole cards and three cards from the community cards on the board. If there is no qualifying low hand, then the player with the highest ranking hand wins. If there is one or more qualifying low hands, then the player with the lowest qualifying low hand and the player with the highest ranking hand split the pot.

Notes and Frequently asked Questions

The best low hand is determined first by looking at the highest qualifying low card in each players qualifying hand. Someone with A2358 would say he had an 'eight low.' His opponent meanwhile has A2357. He has a 'seven low' and wins the low side of the pot, since his seven is lower than the first player's 8. If the players have qualifying low cards of the same rank, we simply move down the chain of cards until one player's card is lower than the other. Example: A2368 beats A2378. Player one would note that he has an eight-six low, while the loser holds an eight-seven. It's not often to have two players who hold identical low hands, but it happens, and this results in a split of the low side of the pot.

Never forget: You form your hand using exactly 2 cards from your hole cards and 3 from the board.

Pot Limit Omaha 8 Or Better Rules

You can use two of your cards to form a high and and two others to form a low hand. Keep all of your options and possible hands in mind!

An interesting event happens every now and then in Omaha hi/lo, and it is called 'getting quartered.' This occurs when two players tie for the high side of the pot and a third player is the only one with a qualifying low hand. The low hand gets half the pot, and the two high hands split the high side, hence they only receive a fourth, or a 'quarter' of the entire pot. The same thing occurs when two players have identical lows, and another player has the high hand. The high hand takes the high half of the pot and the two low hands split the low side of the pot. Getting quartered is almost always a bad thing, as you will tend to put more money into the pot than you will get out of it, unless there were a lot of players in the hand donating towards the pot from the beginning.