Omaha hold ‘em
One of the classic variations of community card poker games is Omaha hold’ em. Several poker games are referred to as Omaha in the casinos of North America with the original game being called Omaha High. Even European version of this poker called the high game by Omaha. The high/low split game is called Omaha Hi-Lo or Omaha 8-or-better. While most Omaha games are pot limit, some casinos and online playrooms offer no limit versions as well.
A game of Omaha hold ‘em starts with every player receiving four hole cards of his own and this opens betting. Then the flop of three community cards is dealt and a second betting round takes place. This is followed by the dealing of the turn and river community cards separately and with two corresponding betting rounds. For the showdown, the player who makes the best 5-card hand out of two of his own hole cards and three from the board takes the pot.
The high/low split variant of Omaha community card poker game requires the players to form two separate complete hands – one high and the other low. In such games the ace card can have both high and low value. The player who has the best high and the best low hand splits the pot, although there is a chance of the same player having both the best hands. When no player qualifies for a low hand, the high hand winner scoops the entire pot.
The European game of Courcheval slightly differs from Omaha. Here the first community card is dealt along with initial four hole cards and only then betting starts. So, in the flop round, two community cards are dealt and rest of the game is the same as Omaha. To make the game a little more varying, there are sometimes five initial hole cards, though showdown allows use of only two from them.
