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Omaha Hi/Lo Poker is a variation of Texas Holdem in which the particular poker game is played with community cards that are dealt as a flop (3 cards) a turn (the fourth card) and river (the fifth and final community card). Omaha Hi/Lo poker splits the pot equally between the best high hand winner and the best low hand winner, hence the name of 'Hi/Lo.' Omaha Hi/Lo is rather unique in that it allows players that tie on either a high or low hand to share the winnings, thus quartering the pot.

The game is played as follows:

Dealer Button:

There is a Button that is moved throughout the game that dictates who the "dealer" is and in which order the cards will be dealt, exactly like Hold'em.  The player who currently "has" the Button will be dealt the last hand. The Dealer’s position at the table changes after every game played. The players to the left of the Dealer Button post the small and big blinds.

Blinds:

Blinds are forced bets made by the two players to the left of the Dealer button. The player adjacent to the Dealer button (first player left of the button) post what is called the small blind and the player next to him (2nd to the left of the button) places the big blind. The small blind is usually half the full bet while the big blind is a full bet. Example: At a 10/20 table (where $10 is the first full bet and later rises to $20 for the last two cards) the small blind would place $5 and the big blind would be the full $10 bet.

Now that Dealer Button and blinds are explained, the game can be played.

The Deal:

Four pocket cards are dealt to each person. In the first round, the player left of the big blind plays first and can either bet, raise or fold. (The betting is capped at one bet and three raises per player.) If no raise is made before the Big Blind, then the Big Blind has the option to raise over his forced bet or just call. The Small Blind has to equal the amounts of the bet or fold giving up the forced bet.

In the second round, three community cards are dealt which is called the Flop. A round of betting follows and players can either check, fold, call, or raise.

In the third round, the fourth card is turned up which is called the Turn. A round of betting follows and then the fourth round, the fifth and final card is turned up which is the River, and a final round of betting is done. The remaining players then used two of their four pocket cards and three of the five community cards to create the best five-card high and five-card low hands possible. The players with the best high and low hands split the pot.

IMPORTANT FACTS!!

The big difference in this game versus Texas Holdem is that the winning hand must consist of TWO pocket cards and THREE community cards. One cannot make a hand from just one pocket card and four community cards or just the five community cards as can be done in Holdem. Low hands can only win if all the cards in the hand have a value of 8 or less. This means at least THREE community cards must have values lower than 9 or there is no possibility of a low hand! The lowest hand possible is A 2 3 4 5 (called "The Wheel").

There is another name for Omaha Hi/Lo and that is: "Omaha Eight-or-Better."  This name is actually more descriptive in that it indicates what TYPES of hands may actually "qualify" for the Low portion of the pot.  See, in order to win the Low, a players hand must qualify by making a Low hand that is eight-high or lower, with the lowest hand being a five-high Wheel, as mentioned above.  Since, in all forms of Omaha, players must use Two Cards from their hand and Three Cards from the community cards, there must be at least 3 unpaired cards eight or lower on the table, otherwise a Low is not possible!  Notice, also, from our example low hand that straights and flushes do NOT count against a Low hand, whereas pairs do.  This is one of the most difficult aspects of Omaha "Eight-or-Better" for newcomers to master and it is a feature, or rule, that exists in all Hi-Lo split pot poker games.

It is possible to "scoop" the pot (win the entire pot) by either having both the highest and lowest hands, OR when there is no possible low and only the highest hand wins.

Example 1:

Player 1 has K J 2 5 and player 2 has A 2 4 7. The flop is K 3 10. Turn comes a 5 and then the river is a Q. Player 2 was hoping for a low hand; however, since only two cards lower then 8 appeared in the community cards there is no possible low; therefore, Player 1 takes the whole pot.

If more than one player ties for the low or high hand then each will receive an equal portion of the pot, an hence the pot will be split by half and half again or "quartered".

Example 2:

Player 1 has the lowest five-card hand and players 2 and 3 have tied with the best high five-card hand; Hence player 1 will receive half the pot and players 2 and 3 will each receive a quarter of the pot. (The half set for the high hand is further split in half for the two that have tie hands.)

So a player must keep in mind that if there are less than 4 players in a hand, you can still LOSE money if the pot is quartered.

Some tips to improve you chances of winning:

• Decide quickly if you are making a low hand and do not be quick to raise since many times the low hands are tied and the pot is quartered. Remember an eligible Low hand can only take half the pot, so if it is quartered, even though you have "won" the low hand and tied with another you will be sharing only half the pot and can actually LOSE money.
  
• If you have a strong hand after the flop, play aggressively though to the end to force others to "pay" for chasing a better hand. This will give you a good chance of winning at least half the pot.

Pairs in the four pocket cards can be more of a restriction then a benefit since you are hoping to build a hand on only a small limit of cards. Many times three of a kind loses to a straight, or flush. Remember there are four pocket cards that are being used to build a hand, not two as in Holdem. More cards from which to construct a hand means more chances of higher-than-average high hands ( e.g. straights, flushes, full houses). So be wary of playing pocket pairs in your hand.

We hope that these rules of Omaha Hi-Lo have been informative and that you return to our site often!