Poker is a family of card games that combines strategy, intelligence, and skill and The most prominent ones being HOLD’EM Poker and OMAHA Poker .
Before you begin playing Hold'em, you'll want to learn the rules. In Hold'em, each player is dealt two private cards (known as ‘hole cards’) that belong to them alone. Five community cards are dealt face-up, to form the ‘board’. All players in the game use these shared community cards in conjunction with their own hole cards to each make their best possible five-card poker hand. In Hold'em, a player may use any combination of the seven cards available to make the best possible five-card poker hand, using zero, one or two of their private hole cards. To view the rankings of poker hands, visit the poker hand ranks page.
The four major variations of Hold'em at PokerStars are distinguished from each other by their betting limits:
Poker is the name given to a number of card games where players wager on the strength of the cards they hold. Poker is a game that involves a communal "pot" consisting of the players' wagers, which is awarded to the player who either holds the highest ranking hand when all the cards are shown, or makes a wager which their opponents are unwilling to match.
PokerStarsTexas Hold'em poker games are offered in No Limit, Pot Limit and Limit varieties. For a detailed breakdown of poker hand rankings, visit our poker hand ranks page.
PokerStars offers a wide variety of poker games with different rules – Community Card games such as Hold’em and Omaha, where everybody shares part of their poker hand; Stud games where each person is dealt cards, some of which are hidden and some of which are face up; Draw games where each person is dealt five cards but can exchange some or all of them for new ones; even High/Low Split games where the pot is divided between the best ‘high’ and ‘low’ hands.
All poker games begin with some forced wager over which poker players compete. In Seven Card Stud, there are two forced wagers, an ante and a bring-in. In other games, the forced wagers are a small blind and a big blind (and sometimes also an ante). In any basic poker game, players strategically wager using a number of actions available to them. The actions are as follows:
CHECK -If there is no wager on the current betting round, a player may check. The act of checking passes the action to the next person, immediately clockwise from the player. A check does not forfeit interest in the pot, only the current right to bet. If all active players check during a round of betting, the round is considered complete.
BET -If there is not yet a wager on the current betting round, a player may bet. If a player bets, the player immediately clockwise from him or her (and any subsequent players) may fold, raise, or call.
FOLD -The act of folding forfeits all interest in the pot. A player who folds is not required or allowed to wager any further money during the current poker hand, but cannot win that hand either.
CALL -If there has been a bet on the current round of poker play, a player may call. The act of calling requires the player to match the current bet made by his or her opponent(s).
RAISE -If there has been a bet on the current betting round, a player may raise. The act of raising requires the poker player to match the current bet, and then make a greater one. All subsequent players are required to call the raise or raise again ("re-raise") to maintain interest in the pot.
If the last bet or raise on the final betting round is called, a "showdown" occurs. This is when it is determined who wins the pot,as players show their hands one-by-one. It may be the case that there is no showdown. This occurs when a player bets or raises, and no active players choose to call the player's bet (in other words, all players fold). In this case, the player doing the betting or raising wins the full amount of the pot.
Omaha poker is an exciting game derived from Texas Hold'em. Each player is dealt four private cards (‘hole cards’) which belong only to that player. Five community cards are dealt face-up on the ‘board’. In Omaha games, all players use exactly three of the community cards together with exactly two of their hole cards to make the best five-card poker hand. No more, and no less. Follow this link to view the rankings of Omaha poker hands.
Pot Limit Omaha Poker - A player can bet what is in the pot (i.e. $100 into a $100 pot). This is the most popular form of Omaha Poker.
No Limit Omaha Poker - A player can bet any amount, up to all of their chips.
Fixed Limit Omaha Poker - There is a specific betting limit applied in each game and on each round of betting.
Below is a general explanation on how to play Omaha poker. The basic rules for all Omaha variants are the same, with the exception of the different betting structures between them. More details on these different betting structures follow.
In Pot Limit and No Limit Omaha games, the games are referred to by the size of their blinds (for example, a $1/$2 Omaha game has a small blind of $1 and a big blind of $2).
Betting then commences from the player to the left of the big blind.
In Fixed Limit Omaha games, the big blind is the same as the small bet, and the small blind is typically half of the size of the big blind, but may be larger depending on the stakes. For example, in a $2/$4 Limit game the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2. In a $15/$30 Limit game, the small blind is $10 and the big blind is $15.
Now, each player is dealt their four hole cards. Betting action proceeds clockwise around the table, starting with the player ‘under the gun’ (immediately clockwise from the big blind).
After seeing his or her hole cards, each player now has the option to play his or her hand by calling or raising the big blind. The action begins to the left of the big blind, which is considered a ‘live’ bet on this round. That player has the option to fold, call or raise. For example, if the big blind was $2, it would cost $2 to call, or at least $4 to raise. Action then proceeds clockwise around the table.
Note: The betting structure varies with different variations of the game. Explanations of the betting action in Limit Omaha, No Limit Omaha, and Pot Limit Omaha can be found below.
Betting continues on each betting round until all active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets in the pot.
After the first round of betting is complete, the ‘flop’ is dealt face-up on the board. The flop is the first three community cards available to all active players. Play begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. Another round of betting ensues. In Fixed Limit Omaha, all bets and raises occur in increments of the small bet (for example, $2 in a $2/$4 game).
When betting action is completed for the flop round, the ‘turn’ is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in an Omaha game. Play begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. Another round of betting ensues. In Fixed Limit Omaha, bets and raises on the turn are in increments of the big bet (for example, $4 in a $2/$4 game).
When betting action is completed for the turn round, the ‘river’ is dealt face-up on the board. The river is the fifth and final community card in Omaha poker. The final round of betting begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button.
If there is more than one remaining player when the final betting round is complete, the last person to bet or raise shows their cards, unless there was no bet on the final round in which case the player immediately clockwise from the button shows their cards first. The player with the best five-card hand wins the pot. Remember: in Omaha, players must use two and only two of their four hole cards in combination with exactly three of the cards from the board. In the event of identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands.
After the pot is awarded, a new Omaha poker game is ready to be played. The button now moves clockwise to the next player.
If you like to play tournament poker, PokerStars offer Omaha tournaments as well.
