In standard Omaha the rules are identical to those of Texas Hold ‘Em except that each player receives four hole cards instead of two and each player must use exactly three board cards and two hole cards to make the hand. This second difference can be confusing for beginners and players who are used to Hold ‘Em.
These examples show how it works:
Hole Cards Flop 4th Street 5th Street
AC, KC, JS, JH KD, KH, QD 9H 9C
Best Hand
The hole card KC makes trip kings but note that this player does not have a full house. This would require the use of only one hole card and four board cards, or three hole cards and two board cards, which are prohibited combinations.
Hole Cards Flop 4th Street 5th Street
AC, 2H, QS, JS AD, KC, 3C 9C 10C
Best Hand
This player’s best hand is the ace-high straight using the QS, JS hole cards and AD, KC, 10C from the board. Note that he does not have a flush as this would require the use of only one hole card and four from the board.
Hole Cards Flop 4th Street 5th Street
AC, KH, QH, JH 4S, 4H, 4D 4C QC
Best Hand
Here a beginner might think that he has four of a kind with an ace as the kicker. Alternatively, he might think that he has a full house of three 4s and two queens. But neither of these hands is allowed because in each case he is using only one hole card. The highest hand this player can have is three 4s with an ace and a king as kickers. The nuts in this example would be where a player holds two queens in hand, making a full house of three queens and two 4s.