Omaha is played with rules very similar to Texas Hold’em, but with a few small twists. In Omaha, each player is dealt four facedown cards to begin the hand (known as hole cards), after which the action proceeds just as in Texas Hold’em.

There’s a round of betting after the first four cards are dealt to each player, then a flop of three cards is dealt face-up in the middle. Another betting round, then the turn card is dealt face-up, followed by another round of betting, then the river card is dealt face-up.

After the river is dealt there’s a final round of betting, after which players still in the hand turn over their cards, and the player with the best five card poker hand is awarded the pot. Unlike in Texas Hold’em, however, a player must use exactly two of their hole cards to make the best five card poker hand. Omaha poker rules don’t allow you to just use one hole card or to play the board; in Omaha you must use two (and only two) of your four facedown cards t make the best hand possible.

If there’s a tie, the pot is split between the players that tie. Omaha is primarily played at online poker rooms and casinos as a high hand game, and Pot Limit Omaha (in which the maximum amount a player can bet is determine by the size of the pot when it’s their turn to act) is the most popular version played.

Omaha can also be played as a split pot game (called O8 or O/8 or Omaha 8 or Better) in which the pot is split between the player with the best hand and the player with the worst hand. Since every player starts with 4 hole cards, the same player can actually win both the high hand and the low hand, as you’re allowed to use two different cards when forming your high hand and two other cards when forming your low hand.

To qualify for a low hand, all five of cards the player is using must be 8 or below (aces count as both low and high cards), so there isn’t always a low hand; in those instances the player with the best hand gets the entire pot.