Omaha Hi Lo
The second most popular poker game in both cash games and in poker tournaments is Omaha Hi Lo (also called "Omaha 8-or-better"). The most popular of course is Texas Hold'em, but many players believe that Omaha Hi Lo is the game of the future as it gains in popularity on online poker sites as well as in brick and mortar casinos. Many of the rules are the same as in Texas Hold'em, however the differences make Omaha Hi Lo a more interesting and exciting game. This article will assume you are familiar with the rules of Texas Hold'em and will focus only on how the rules of Omaha Hi Lo are different.
Unlike Texas Hold'em where you receive two hole cards, in Omaha Hi Lo you will receive four hole cards. The flop, turn and river come out just like in Hold'em to give you 5 community cards, but at showdown you have to use exactly two of your hole cards and three of the community cards to make your hand.
Omaha Hi Lo is a split pot game. When there is a qualifying low hand, half the pot will go to the low hand, with the other half going to the best possible hand. When there isn't a qualifying low hand the entire pot goes to the best possible hand. A qualifying low hand is five unpaired cards 8 and lower. The ace acts like a "1" when used in a low hand. When determining the low hand straights and flushes are ignored. To determine the best low hand first compare the highest card in the qualifying low hand. The player who's high card is the lowest wins the low hand half of the pot. If player A's high card is an 8 and Player B's high card is a 7, then Player B would win the low hand. If they both have the same high card then compare their next highest card and so on until there is a difference and a winning low hand is determined. The best possible low hand is (A, 2, 3, 4, 5) also known as the wheel.
When splitting the pot, if there is an extra chip that can't be split it goes to the winner of the high hand.
A player can win both the low hand half of the pot and the high hand half by using different hole and community cards or by using the same cards.
Omaha Hi Lo is a fun game to play and the similarities to Texas Hold'em make it an easy game to learn.
