Irish poker is simple to get into if you’re already familiar with the rules of regular poker, along with the gameplay of Omaha poker.
Indeed, Irish poker is a variation of Omaha. The main difference it has with Omaha is how players deal with the cards they’re not going to be using.
Let’s take a closer look at how Irish poker works.
Irish Poker: Game Rules
Like we mentioned, there are plenty of similarities here with regular poker that can help you get into this game. These include:
- Card values and winning hands (pairs, flushes, straights, etc)
- Players all use 5 community cards to make up their final hand
The player actions during betting rounds are also the same. Players may:
- Check
- Call
- Raise
- Fold
The main difference lies in the fact that the players are each individually dealt 4 cards instead of 2. And how they use those 4 cards is what makes Irish poker unique.
Irish Poker: Order of Play
In the beginning of a game of Irish poker, the dealer will deal 4 cards to each player. Players will look at their hands and kick the game off with a first round of betting.
Bear in mind that in your final hand, you can only play 2 of the 4 cards that you’re dealt. You can’t use all four.
After initial betting round, the dealer deals out the three first community cards, aka the flop. These are face-up on the table.
It’s at this point that players must decide which 2 cards they want to keep. Those they don’t want to keep must be discarded and removed from play.
The dealer then deals the fourth card, initiating a new betting round. The final fifth card (the “river) is then dealt, and players go through the final betting round.
Like in regular poker, you must now use the 5 community cards and your 2-card hand to make the best possible poker hand. Players who’re still in the game then reveal their cards, and the winner is determined!