Help with Omaha Hold 'Em

OK: Help me out here;

We're playing in a cash game last night; I was under the impression that of the 4 cards you get in your hand, that you HAVE to play 2 of them, not 1.

Example; Guy has 10 Q 2 3 in his hand (mixed suit)

Flop comes 6 8 9(mixed suit)

Turn 7 (no flush possibilites)

River A (still no flush)

Guy bets; guy with the supposed straight calls.

Turns over his straight........I say; whoa......you gotta play 2........not 1.

We had a fairly lengthy discussion over it........

EDIT: I am correct, it appears.

Some specific things to notice about Omaha hands are:

* As in Texas hold 'em, three or more suited cards on the board makes a flush possible, but unlike that game a player always needs two of that suit in hand to play a flush. For example, with a board of K♠ 9♠ Q♠ Q♥ 5♠, a player with A♠ 2♥ 4♥ 5♣ cannot play a flush using the ace as would be possible in Texas hold 'em; the player must play two cards from in-hand and only three from the board (so instead, this player's best hand is two pair: Q♠ Q♥ 5♠ 5♣ A♠). A player with 2♠ 3♠ K♦ J♦ can play the spade flush.

* Two pair on the board does not make a full house for anyone with a single matching card as it does in Texas hold 'em. For example, with a board of J♠ J♦ 9♦ 5♥ 9♣, a player with a hand of A♠ 2♠ J♥ K♦ cannot play a full house; the player can only use the A-J to play J♠ J♥ J♦ A♠ 9♣, since he/she must play three of the board cards. A player with 2♣ 5♣ 9♠ 10♠ can use his/her 9-5 to play the full house 9♠ 9♣ 9♦ 5♥ 5♣.

* Likewise, with three of a kind on the board, a player must have a pair in hand to make a full house. For example, with a board of J♠ J♦ A♦ J♥ K♣, a player with A♠ 2♠ 3♥ K♦ does not have a full house, the player only has three jacks with an ace-king kicker, and will lose to a player with only a pair of deuces. This is probably the most frequently misread hand in Omaha. (Naturally, a person with the fourth jack in hand can make four jacks because any other card in hand can act as the fifth card, or "kicker".)

 

You have to play two, no more, no less. Your friend is a fucking moron.

 

In Omaha, you play two of yours and three from the board, no exceptions.

If a royal flush is on the board, the best hand you can possibly have is the queen-high Straight Flush.

 

You are correct. Hopefully you realized this before the moron friend got any money.

 

It's Omaha ... Not Omaha hold em.

 

I know this; but if I just put "Help with Omaha" in the subject line, it would lead a lot of people to believe that I am looking for Rosenblatt or something like that.