Courchevel is a variant of five-card Omaha, where the first flop card is revealed before the first betting round. This creates a very action-packed game, as everyone gets a glimpse of the board before deciding whether to continue.

Each player is dealt five private cards, and one community card is immediately placed face up on the table. There is then a betting round, followed by the remaining two flop cards, the turn and the river. As in Omaha, you must use exactly two of your hole cards together with exactly three board cards to make your hand.

The betting starts with a small and a big blind, action starts to the left of the big blind preflop, and to the left of the button on all later streets. There are four betting rounds: before the flop, after the flop, after the turn and after the river.

Hand rankings are exactly the same as in regular poker. The best possible hand is a royal flush, followed by a straight flush, four of a kind, and so on.

• Remember that the first flop card is exposed before the action starts.
• If you’re unsure whether you have the winning hand, table your cards and let the dealer read them.

• The exposed flop card changes the value of starting hands dramatically. Hands that connect well with it become much stronger.
• Be careful with dominated draws. In Omaha variants, second-best flushes and straights can become very expensive, your opponents are likely to play hands that become the best draws connecting with the door card.