Omaha Hi-Lo Poker Rules
Omaha Hi-Lo is played more or less the same as regular Omaha, the difference being at the end of the game the pot is split
between the player with the highest (best) hand and the player with the lowest hand. Omaha Hi-Lo is normally played 8's or better.
The 'High' hand:
In Omaha Hi-Lo, a 'high hand' is simply a regular 5 card poker hand, the highest of which wins half of the pot. As with
regular Omaha games, a player must make their hands from two of their hole cards, and three cards from the board.
The 'Low' hand:
A low hand is (as the name implies) just that, the lowest possible hand, which wins the other half of the pot.
- A low hand must consist of 5 cards that are valued 8 or lower. ('8's or better')
- A low hand cannot contain any pairs. (that doesn't mean you cannot have a pair in your high hand, just that you cannot have a pair or better in the 5 cards played for low hand.)
- Straights and flushes do not count in a low hand.
That makes the best possible low hand A,2,3,4,5, referred to as the 'wheel'. Because each hand in Omaha Hold'em must be made up of 3 cards from the board and 2
of the players hole cards, that also means it's not possible to have a low hand unless there are at least 3 low cards on the board.
If a player has 5 cards that are each valued 8 or lower, they do not 'qualify' to play a low hand. If at the end of the hand, no remaining players qualify for
a low hand, the entire pot goes to the player with the highest hand rather than being split.
Playing for both low and high hands:
You can play any 3 cards from the board along with any 2 of your hole cards to make up your low hand, and the same goes for your high hand.
These can be the same cards, or they can be different for each hand.
Here's an example of a typical Hi-Lo hand that can be played both high and low:
| Hole Cards |
A♠, A♦, 3♣, K♠
|
| Board Cards |
A♥, 4♠, 6♣, 8♦, K♣ |
With the cards above, a player would have for high hand:
A♠, A♦, A♥, 8♦, K♣
And would play the following cards for low:
A♠, 3♣, 4♠, 6♣, 8♦
Note that despite having a total of 3 aces and 2 kings in the nine cards shown, the highest hand possible is still 3 of a kind because the player may only use
2 of their hole cards in the hand. A low hand can be played because the player has 5 cards valued 8 or lower.
When a player wins both the high hand and the low hand they take both halves of the pot, known as 'sweeping the pot' in Hi-Lo games.
Finding a game...
Omaha Hi-Lo is offered at the majority of online poker rooms, and has a fairly active player community in both sit and go tournaments and regular ring games.
Smaller rooms may not have a lot of players at any given time however, so if you're looking for a lot of open tables or higher stakes, you'll probably want to opt for a larger room.
Check our poker directory for information and previews on where to play.
|
|
