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.)
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 EmpirePoker system
generates a fresh deck of cards for the hand. On EmpirePoker, 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 RNG code has been successfully audited by BMM, Australia,
and its integrity is verified daily. BMM is one of the leading auditors
of gaming solutions in the industry.
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
EmpirePoker 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.
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 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 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 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 (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 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).
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 funds from the cashier 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.
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.
As this is a multi player game, the players are expected to play within
a set time frame, the actions during their turn. On EmpirePoker 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).
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.
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.
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.EmpirePoker 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. This applies to both play money and poker for real money.
For all the four rounds of betting, the house based on set rules
collects a commission, which is known as the rake in poker terminology.
The rules set at EmpirePoker are:
ALL LIMIT MONEY GAMES will be raked according to the chart below:
| Limit |
Number of Players |
Pot Size |
Rake |
| $0.50/$1.00 |
2 - 10 |
$5 |
$0.50 |
| and $1/$2 |
|
$12 |
$0.75 |
| |
|
$20 |
$1.00 |
 |
| $2/$4 |
2 - 3 |
$20 |
$1.00 |
| |
4 - 5 |
$20 |
$1.00 |
| thru |
|
$30 |
$1.50 |
| $10/$20 |
|
$40 |
$2.00 |
| |
6 - 10 |
$20 |
$1.00 |
| |
|
$30 |
$1.50 |
| |
|
$40 |
$2.00 |
| |
|
$50 |
$2.50 |
| |
|
$60 |
$3.00 |
|
|
| $15/$30 |
2 - 3 |
$40 |
$1.00 |
| |
4 - 5 |
$40 |
$1.00 |
| thru |
|
$55 |
$1.50 |
| $30/$60 |
|
$70 |
$2.00 |
| |
6 - 10 |
$40 |
$1.00 |
| |
|
$55 |
$1.50 |
| |
|
$70 |
$2.00 |
| |
|
$85 |
$2.50 |
| |
|
$100 |
$3.00 |
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 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.
Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or
Better will be raked according to the chart below:
| No. Of players |
Rake per pot |
Max. |
| 2-3 |
$0.05 for each
$1.0 in Pot |
$1.00 |
| 4-5 |
$0.05 for each
$1.0 in Pot |
$2.00 |
| 6-9 |
$0.05 for each
$1.0 in Pot |
$3.00 |
Note: If rake is
less than $0.10, rake is zero.
A player "scoops"
the pot when they win the whole pot (which is the mission.)
|