Courchevel Rules
Courchevel is a five-card Omaha variant with one memorable twist: the first community card is dealt face up before the opening bet. You get five hole cards, just like 5-Card Omaha, but you begin the hand already knowing one card of the board. The rest of the flop follows after the first betting round. Named for the French ski resort, it is a long-standing online favourite.
A quick note on rules
Courchevel is primarily an online variant, most associated with PokerStars, and is far more common in its Hi-Lo form than as a high-only game. The core mechanic — five hole cards and one exposed flop card before the first bet — is consistent, but whether a table plays high-only or eight-or-better Hi-Lo, and its betting limit, varies. Confirm which form and limit a table is using before you sit.
The objective
Make the best five-card hand, using exactly two of your hole cards and three community cards. What sets Courchevel apart is information: because one board card is visible before you act pre-flop, you can already judge whether your five hole cards connect with the board, and that early read shapes every decision that follows.
How a hand plays out
Five hole cards, one card exposed
Post the blinds and deal each player five cards face down. Then one card of the eventual flop is turned face up in the middle before anyone has acted — the defining feature of Courchevel.
Bet with one card known
The first betting round takes place with that single exposed card visible. You act pre-flop already knowing one board card, so hands that connect with it gain value and dead ones can be folded early.
Complete the board, then showdown
After the first round, the remaining two flop cards are dealt together, then the turn, then the river, each with a betting round. At showdown, use exactly two hole cards and three of the five community cards.
Courchevel is usually Pot-Limit. The exposed first card means the pre-flop round carries more information than in any other Omaha game, so ranges are tighter and more accurate from the very first bet.
Variants
Courchevel Hi-Lo (most common)
The form you will meet most often online. It adds an eight-or-better low, so the pot splits between the best high hand and the best qualifying low, exactly as in Omaha Hi-Lo. The exposed-first-card deal is unchanged — the low half is simply layered on top.
Courchevel High
The high-hand-only version: best five-card hand wins the whole pot, no split. Same five hole cards and same exposed first card, but without the low, so every decision is about making and protecting one big hand.
A worked example
The exposed first flop card is A♠. Priya is dealt A♥ A♦ K♠ Q♠ J♦ and must decide whether to raise pre-flop.
That exposed ace changes everything. Priya holds two more aces, so between her hand and the board three aces are already accounted for — a big clue about how likely anyone else is to be holding one. Her hand connects strongly with the visible card.
Knowing one board card is already an ace, she can raise pre-flop with real confidence: her holding works with the exposed card, and she blocks much of the opposition’s ace-based value. Compare that to ordinary Omaha, where she would be raising blind, hoping to hit a flop she cannot yet see.
The point of Courchevel is exactly this: the exposed first card lets you make a sharper pre-flop decision than any other Omaha game allows. The remaining two flop cards then fill in the rest of the picture.
Tips for beginners
Use the exposed card. Its whole purpose is to inform your pre-flop decision — reward hands that connect with it and be quicker to fold hands that do not. If your five cards ignore the visible board card entirely, you are giving away Courchevel’s one real edge.
Remember it is still Omaha. The exposed card is a head start, not a new rule set: you still use exactly two hole cards and three board cards, and in the Hi-Lo form you still chase the scoop. Treat Courchevel as 5-Card Omaha with an early peek, and the rest is familiar ground.
Frequently asked questions
What makes Courchevel different from 5-Card Omaha?
One card of the flop is exposed before the first betting round. You are dealt five hole cards as in 5-Card Omaha, but instead of acting blind pre-flop, you already know the first community card. The rest of the flop — two more cards — comes only after that first round of betting.
How many hole cards do I use?
Exactly two, plus exactly three community cards — the standard Omaha rule. The exposed first card is simply the first of the five board cards; it counts as part of the board like any other community card.
Where does the name come from?
Courchevel is named after the French ski resort. Like several European-born poker variants it took its name from a glamorous location, and it is most associated with online play, where PokerStars has long spread it.
When does the rest of the flop appear?
After the first betting round. The single exposed card is dealt first, everyone acts on it, and then the remaining two flop cards are turned together. The turn and river follow as in any Omaha game, each with its own betting round.
What is Courchevel Hi-Lo?
The more commonly spread online form. It adds an eight-or-better low, splitting the pot between the best high hand and the best qualifying low, exactly as in Omaha Hi-Lo. The exposed-first-card mechanic is identical; only the split changes.
Related games
Informational only — this guide explains how the game is played and doesn't mean it's offered on Salty Poker.