Omaha High Low

Omaha High-Low Poker (or Omaha Hi-Lo) is played exactly the same as regular Omaha Poker, only that there are two winning hands for each game; a high hand and a low hand. Each player is required to make two separate 5 card hands, each containing 2 of the 4 hole/pocket cards dealt in the first round and 3 of the board cards dealt during the betting rounds. The high hand is ranked according to standard Poker hand rankings, and the low hand is ranked according to low hand rankings specific for Omaha High-Low.

A low hand is classified as 5 unpaired cards with the highest number being no greater than an 8 (which accounts for the game also being called “8 or Better). Any hand containing a value higher than 8 will not qualify as a low hand. As such, the hand must contain at least 3 cards of differing ranks 8 or below.

Straights and flushes do not apply to low hands, therefore the best possible low hand is A, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (called a “wheel”). For this reason, a low straight or flush can qualify as both a high and low hand and win both halves of the pot. This is called a “scoop”. It should be noted that an Ace can be used in both high and low hands.

The winning low hand is decided by the player with the lowest high card. When two or more players have an equal high card, the winning hand is awarded to the one with the next lowest high card. If there is another tie, then the 3rd lowest high card is awarded the pot, and so on. In Omaha High-Low, if there is no qualifying low hand, then the high hand wins the entire pot.

The best possible starting hand in Omaha High-Low is A-2 (suited) and A-3 (suited). The worst possible starting hand I surprisingly 2, 2, 2 and 2, as the only possible combination is 2-2, making it impossible to qualify for a low hand.

Omaha High-Low can be played in 3 different ways. In a Fixed Limit game, the bets and raises for each betting round are predetermined. In a Pot Limit game, the maximum bet or raise cannot exceed the pot amount. In a No Limit game, there are no maximum betting limits, making for some very exciting game action.