Omaha 8 or Better Poker Game Rules |
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Omaha 8 or Better
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 PartyPoker.net system generates a fresh deck of
cards for the hand. On PartyPoker.net, we use a single deck of cards 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 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 PartyPoker.net the small
blind is rounded down to the nearest value chip. For example – at 5/10 chip
game Omaha 8 or Better per the formula the small blind should be 2.5-vale
chip. Instead, it is rounded of to the lower value chip, 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 chips 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 chip game 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
chip 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 chip 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 chips from his account 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.
On the final round of betting, the player who bets first (or checks first if
no one else bets) is required to show their cards first at the showdown. If
they have the best hand, the remaining players may/may not show their cards
as they wish. The aggressors’ hand is only turned over first if he was the
last to initiate action on the river.
As this is a multi player game, the players are expected to play within a
set time frame, the actions during their turn. On PartyPoker.net 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 PartyPoker.net, please
visit:
http://www.partypoker.net/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.
On the final round of betting, the player who bets first (or checks first if
no one else bets) is required to show their cards first at the showdown. If
they have the best hand, the remaining players may/may not show their cards
as they wish. The aggressors’ hand is only turned over first if he was the
last to initiate action on the river.
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.PartyPoker.net 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.
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-value chip 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.
A player "scoops" the pot when they win the whole pot (which is the mission.)