Courchevel Rules: 5-Card Omaha With an Exposed Card
Courchevel is 5-card Omaha where the first flop card is dealt face-up before betting. Learn the rules, the exposed-card twist, and how strategy shifts.
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You post the blinds, look down at five hole cards, and before anyone has acted the dealer flips one card face-up in the middle of the table. That single exposed card is all that separates Courchevel from ordinary five-card Omaha — and it changes your first decision completely. You are no longer betting blind into a hidden flop; you already know one of the five shared cards you will be building toward.
Everything else is standard Omaha. You get five hole cards, you make your hand from exactly two of them plus exactly three board cards, and betting is pot-limit. Learn that two-card rule once and it carries into every game in the family: even holding five cards and seeing an early board card, at showdown you use precisely two hole cards and three board cards, never one, never three.
The dealing order
The one difference is entirely in when the board is revealed:
| Step | Standard Omaha | Courchevel |
|---|---|---|
| Deal | 4 or 5 hole cards | 5 hole cards |
| Before first bet | Nothing on board | First flop card exposed |
| Preflop betting | Blind, hole cards only | Hole cards + one board card |
| Flop | All three at once | Remaining two flop cards |
| Turn / river | Normal | Normal |
So the sequence runs: post blinds, deal five hole cards, expose the first flop card, then the opening betting round. Once that round completes, the dealer turns the other two flop cards to finish the board, and the turn and river follow as usual. There is still one five-card board at showdown — it is just revealed 1-2-1-1 instead of the usual 3-1-1.
Reading your hand against the up-card
Knowing one shared card before you invest lets you evaluate how your five cards actually connect, which reshapes preflop play:
- Suits get sharper. If the up-card is a heart and you hold two hearts, you have a live nut-flush possibility from the very first decision. Double-suited hands that match the exposed suit jump in value.
- Pairs to the up-card gain. A hole card that pairs the exposed card gives you an immediate made hand or trips to build around.
- Dead hands show themselves early. If the up-card kills your straight shape or duplicates cards you were counting on, you can fold before the pot grows.
Ten combinations, one that must be the nuts
Five hole cards produce ten distinct two-card combinations versus the six a four-card hand gives you. More pairings mean more ways to hit, but also more traps, because Omaha pots go to the nuts and second-best combinations lose stacks. The up-card lets you count your live nut combinations from the start: if none of your ten pairs can make the nuts on the runouts you expect, the hand is a fold no matter how pretty the five cards look. For which five-card holdings win, see the Omaha hand rankings; for the base game beneath Courchevel, the five-card Omaha rules.
High and hi-lo forms
Courchevel is dealt two ways. High only gives the whole pot to the best five-card high hand, mirroring PLO. Hi-lo (8 or better) splits the pot between the best high and the best qualifying low, exactly as in Omaha Hi-Lo — and the up-card matters for both halves, since a low card favors low draws and a high card favors the high side. In hi-lo you can play one two-card combination for your high and a different one for your low out of the same five cards, but each must still be exactly two hole cards.
Table rules vary on exposed-card timing and hi-lo qualifiers, so confirm whether a game is high-only or 8-or-better, and whether any straddle or rock is in play, before you sit down.
Is it worth learning?
Treat Courchevel as an advanced stop rather than a starting point. Get comfortable with PLO and five-card Omaha first, then add it once you can read boards and count nut combinations quickly — the exposed card rewards that skill and punishes loose play hard. Its natural home is a mixed-game rotation, where the early information creates sharp, readable spots. Compare it against the rest of the family in our Omaha variations overview, browse community-card cousins on the other variants hub, or keep building the foundation on the Omaha and PLO hub.
Frequently asked
What is Courchevel poker?
Courchevel is a five-card Omaha variant in which the first card of the flop is dealt face-up before the opening betting round. Players see one shared board card while making their first decision, then the remaining two flop cards come out normally. It is usually pot-limit and comes in high-only and hi-lo forms.
How many hole cards do you get in Courchevel?
Five, the same as five-card Omaha. At showdown you must still use exactly two of your five hole cards plus exactly three of the five board cards. The extra hole cards give you ten two-card combinations instead of the six a four-card hand provides.
What is the difference between Courchevel and 5-card Omaha?
Only the exposed card. In standard five-card Omaha the whole flop stays hidden until after preflop betting. In Courchevel the first flop card is turned face-up before anyone acts, so preflop decisions are made with partial board information already on the table.
Is Courchevel played pot-limit or no-limit?
Almost always pot-limit, matching the rest of the Omaha family — the maximum bet equals the current size of the pot. Hi-lo Courchevel is sometimes spread as a limit game in mixed rotations, but pot-limit high is the common form.
Why is Courchevel searched for as 'PLO with a rock'?
Some home and mixed games add a 'rock,' a forced blind marker that rotates and inflates the opening pot, similar to a button straddle. It is a betting add-on, not part of Courchevel's core rules, but the pairing is common enough that people search for the game that way.