Like Hold'em, Omaha uses a "flop" of three cards and two cards after that on the table. Unlike Hold'em, each player receives four hole cards (sometimes called "pocket cards"). This means that each player has a total of nine cards to work with. As many as ten persons can play this game at a single table. But there are limitations on what can be done: The objective of Omaha is to make a hand with two of the four hole cards and three of the five cards on the table.

The highest hand wins the pot. A button is used to indicate were the "deal" is. Remember, the house will provide a dealer as part of the poker room service, in exchange for a commission from every pot. The "deal," however, will rotate counterclockwise so that the order of betting and playing moves around to be fair to everyone.

Like Hold'em, the "small blind" is at the immediate left of the deal and the "big blind" to the left of the small blind. The small blind puts up (usually) a half bet and the big blind puts up a full bet. After each person receives cards, the person to the left of the big blind starts the first of the four betting rounds. In the first two rounds, the amount of the maximum bet is also the maximum raise, limited to three per round, no matter how many people are playing. So if the table maximum bet is $2, the largest amount potentially required of a player on the first betting round will be $2 plus three raises of $2, or $8.

After this initial betting round, in which everyone sees his or her four hole cards but no common cards "on the board," the dealer turns over "the flop," which consists of three cards face up on the table.

Betting round two begins with the first active player clockwise from the dealer button. Then the dealer uncovers the fourth card, called the "turn" card, and another round begins in the same manner, except that betting limits usually double. The dealer reveals the fifth and last card, the "river" card, and another round at the higher betting level takes place.

If more than one person is still active, the last person to bet or raise (or the first active player left of the button if there was no betting in the last round) turns over his or her hand. Identical hands yield equally divided pots. A losing player need not show his or her hand if he concedes the pot.

Remember, exactly two of the hole cards must be combined with exactly three of the cards on the table (often called "board cards").

The dealer will collect the chips and the cards, and pay off the winners.