The key difference from Hold’em
In standard four-card Omaha, each player receives four hole cards. At showdown, choose exactly two of them and three board cards. You cannot use only one hole card or play all five board cards.
Dealing and action
The blinds, flop, turn and river follow a sequence similar to Hold’em. Omaha high uses standard high-poker rankings. PLO means pot-limit Omaha; not every Omaha table has the same betting structure.
Understand the rule with an example
With A♠ and K♠ among your hole cards and Q♠, J♠ and 10♠ on the board, you can use exactly two hole cards and three board cards to make a royal flush.
By contrast, holding only one spade does not make a spade flush even when the board has four spades. Always count how many hole cards you use.
What to check before joining
Five-card and six-card Omaha give you more hole cards, but common versions still require the 2 + 3 combination. Hi/Lo adds low-hand qualification and split pots. Check the table's full name and rules instead of mixing these variants together.
Compare the best five cards
See the hole cards and board together.
These examples are complete, legally possible deals. Compare each player's hole cards, the board and the final five to see which cards count.
Hole cardBoard cardEach selected card shows its origin. “Not used” means that hole card is outside the best five.
Four spades on the board do not mean you have a flush.
Four-card Omaha · Use exactly two hole cards and three community cards.
Player's hole cards
- Not used
- Not used
↓ Using 2 hole cards + 3 community cards
- Board card
- Board card
- Board card
- Hole card
- Hole card
Ace-high straight · J♠, 10♥ + A♠, K♠, Q♠
The player has only one spade among their hole cards. Using J♠ with four spades from the board would break the 2 + 3 rule. The legal combination is J♠ and 10♥ from the hand with A♠, K♠ and Q♠ from the board. Applying Hold'em selection rules to the same available cards could produce a different result, so identify the variant first.
Cards use complete, standard faces.Asset sources and licenses(new window)
Rules may vary between platforms, tables and events. This guide explains common rules; available games, eligibility and dispute procedures are determined by the platform's official announcements.
Keep exploring
This guide was independently compiled in Chinese. The following sources let you verify the rules.
PokerStars official game guide(new window)