Omaha 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 thepokerplace.com the small blind is rounded down to the nearest dollar. For example – at $5/$10 Omaha 8 or
Better per the formula the small blind should be $2.5. Instead, it is rounded of to the lower dollar, 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 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.
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