To qualify a low hand you must have 5 cards without any pairs, and no card can be higher than 8. Since you are using 2 of your facedown cards and 3 face up cards from the table, all of the cards must be 8 or lower. Straights and Suits do not count so the best hand is A-2-3-4-5 regardless of suit. The cards are ranked by their highest card, so 7-6-5-4-3 is 7-low (highest card is 7) and beats 8-7-5-4-3-2 which is 8-low (highest card is 8). If two players have a low hand with the same high card, the player with the next highest card looses; 7-5-4-3-2 beats 7-6-4-3-2. If there are no low hands that qualify, the player with the best high hand wins everything in the pot.

First you get 4 facedown cards. Then 5 cards are dealt face up on the table that all players can see and use. The players use two of their four hole cards together with three cards from the table to make the best possible five card hand.

There are four rounds of betting that moves clockwise around the table. The player next to the Dealer starts the betting. Tuxpoker offers three different types of Omaha poker (defined by their betting structure):

The button

A button with a D signifies who is the Dealer of each round in Texas Holdem. When a round is over the button is moved clockwise to the next player. This makes sure that each player get the change to act first or last and that all participants must pay the blinds eventually.

Note: In single table tournaments a high card draw decides which player initially receives the Dealer button. If two or more players get the same card value, they are ranked according to suits (from high to low: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs).

The blinds

The blinds are forced bets that continuously rotate around the table among the players. The player to the left of the Dealer post the small blind and the next player to left have to post the big blind, which is twice the value of the small blind. The blinds make sure that there always is some money in the pot.

When a player sits down at an active table, he must post the value of the big blind to be dealt in the game. If you leave the table and are absent when its your turn to post the blinds, you have to post the blinds once you return to the table. Each player has the option to wait for the button to rotate to their position before starting to play.

Pre-flop

Four facedown cards have been dealt to all players and the first betting round starts. The player next to the button is first to act and he have three options:

When its time for the player who posted the big blind to act, he can choose the check and stay in the game without having to add anything more to the pot. If a player has raised the pot he can fold, call or re-raise.

The size of the bets in the first betting round is defined by the lower limit of the betting structure. In a $10/$20 game the bets will be $10 and the raises $20(a raise means calling a previous bet and an additional bet). In a $10/$20 game No limit/Pot limit Texas Holdem game the bets are $20 and the raises $40.

Flop

Three cards are dealt face up on the table. All players can use these to make their five card hand. The second round of betting begins where the first player to act can:

Turn

A fourth card is dealt face up on the table. The third betting round begins and the first player to act can:

River

A final card is dealt face up on the table and the last betting round begins. The first player to act can:

Showdown

If there is more than 1 remaining player, there is a showdown where the players show their cards and the best hand wins. If no low hands qualify the player with the best high hand win the whole pot. If there are both a low hand and a high hand, the pot is split between the winning players. If two hands are identical, the pot is divided between them.

Special rules