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Omaha family

Expose poker rules

4 Cards / Reveal as You Go

Hole cards
4
Board
1 community board
Betting
Pot-Limit
Players
2-7 players
Pot
High hand
Family
Omaha family

What is Expose?

Expose is Omaha with information on the table: all four hole cards are private preflop, then after each of the flop, turn and river every active player privately selects one hole card to expose, locks the choice, and all selections are revealed at the same time before betting.

By the river three of your four cards are face up and one remains hidden. Exposed cards are not discarded; all four remain eligible for the usual Omaha showdown of exactly two hole cards plus three board cards.

Pot-Limit, 2-7 players; the game rewards choosing which card to show as much as which hand to build.

Starting cards

4 private cards. Omaha showdown rules.

How to play

  1. Preflop: all 4 cards are private; preflop betting.
  2. Deal the flop. Every active player privately selects ONE hole card to expose and locks the selection. Reveal SIMULTANEOUSLY, then flop betting.
  3. Deal the turn. Select ONE remaining unexposed card, lock, reveal simultaneously, then turn betting.
  4. Deal the river. Select ONE remaining unexposed card, lock, reveal simultaneously, then river betting and showdown.

Special rules

After the final reveal, 3 hole cards are exposed and 1 remained hidden. Exposed cards are NOT discarded: all 4 remain eligible.

Showdown

Use EXACTLY 2 hole cards + EXACTLY 3 community cards from the evaluated board. You cannot play the board or use 1, 3, or 4 hole cards.

Hand rankings in Expose

High Hand

  1. Royal Flush
  2. Straight Flush
  3. Four of a Kind
  4. Full House
  5. Flush
  6. Straight
  7. Three of a Kind
  8. Two Pair
  9. One Pair
  10. High Card

Royal Flush is the highest possible Ace-high Straight Flush.

Common mistakes

  • Treating an exposed card as dead: exposed cards remain part of your hand and can play at showdown.
  • Revealing before the lock: selections are locked privately and revealed simultaneously, then betting begins.
  • Trying to re-expose the same card: each street you select one of the cards that is still hidden.
  • Using one or three hole cards at showdown: Omaha's exactly-two rule still applies.
  • Pot-Limit Omaha

    Pot-Limit Omaha keeps all four cards hidden until showdown; Expose reveals one per street, finishing with three face up.

  • Crossing the Border

    Crossing the Border builds up to four hole cards during the hand; Expose starts with four and progressively reveals them.

See how Expose lines up against every other game in the poker variants comparison table.

Expose FAQ

How many cards are exposed in Expose?

One after the flop, one after the turn and one after the river, so three of your four hole cards end up face up with one still hidden.

Can exposed cards still be used at showdown?

Yes. Exposed cards are not discarded; all four hole cards remain eligible, and showdown uses exactly two hole cards plus exactly three board cards.

When does the reveal happen?

Each player locks a selection privately, then all selections are revealed simultaneously, and only then does that street's betting begin.