Omaha Hi/Lo
Overview
| Cards dealt to each player | 4 concealed |
|---|---|
| Community cards dealt | 5 |
| Number of betting rounds | 4 |
| Limits | Fixed limit Pot limit |
| Blinds or antes | Blinds |
The Game
Split Pot
Omaha Hi/Lo is played exactly the same way as Omaha, with one exception: In the showdown, the highest hand wins only half the pot, while the other half is won by the best low hand.
However, this is true only if a player shows down a qualifying low hand. If there is no qualifying low hand, the best high hand wins the whole pot.
Low hand requirements
To qualify as a low hand, a hand must not contain any card higher than 8, and no pair or better.
However, straights and flushes do not disqualify a low hand. So, for example, 8s-7s-6s-5s-4s qualifies as a low hand. (At the same time, it is a very strong high hand, a straight flush.)
Forming a high and a low hand
As in Omaha, you must use two of your hole cards to form a poker hand with three cards from the table. But you are free to use any combination of two cards for the low and the high hand. One or two of your hole cards may be used for both the high and the low hand, or you may use two cards for the high hand and the other two cards for the low hand, as you wish.
For example, if you hold AKT2 and the board is AA764, your best high hand is AK+AA7 (three of a kind), and your best low is A2+764. You use the ace in both hands.
Aces up and down
In Omaha Hi/Lo, the ace is the highest card, but it is also the lowest. This is what makes the classic hand A2345 (“the wheel”) so strong. It is the best possible low hand, but at the same time, being a straight, it is a strong high hand.
Game Advice For Omaha Hi/Lo
Scoping
You should always be on the look-out for a chance to win the whole pot – an activity called scoping. There are two ways to scope. Either, you have the best high hand and the best low hand. Or you have the best high hand and there is no low hand. If you aim at winning only the high or only the low part, the reward is only half as big.
Being quartered
Even if you have the best possible low hand, you can never be sure of winning even half the pot. It is always possible that another player has the same low hand, so that you will split the low part of the pot, that is, you will get only a quarter of the pot. This means that you get very bad odds for playing your hand. In fact, you may even lose money on the hand if you win only a quareter of the pot.
Of course, high hands sometimes also split the high half of the pot. But it is possible to hold a high hand of which you know that no other player can match it.