Omaha Hi/Lo Poker Rules

Omaha Hi/Lo is a variation of Omaha Holdem. The betting, blinds, and postings rules are exactly the same as in Omaha. Finally, the pot is split between the holder of the highest hand, and the holder of the lowest hand, if the low hand qualifies.

Qualifying Low hands

To qualify as a low hand, the player must have five unpaired cards that are 8 or lower. An ace counts as the lowest card in a qualifying low hand, and flushes and straights do not effect the low value. The best "low" hand would be an ace through five straight (A2345). This hand is commonly called the "Bicycle." It is entirely possible for a player to have the best low and best high hand. You can even use different cards in their hand to make a separate low and high hand. If you has both the best high and best low hand, he wins the entire pot, also called "scooping" the pot.

Just as in the high version of Omaha, each player starts with four hole cards, and then the dealer places five cards face-up in the center of the table. These community cards are part of each player's hand, so each player has access to seven cards. The difference between Omaha high and Omaha Hi/Lo, is that in Omaha Hi/Lo each player can potentially have two different hands: a high hand and a low hand.

Each player forms a five-card high or low hand by using only two (no more, no less, but they can be any two) of his hole cards together with only three (no more, no less, but they can be any three) of the five community cards.

related articles

1. Poker dictionary
2. Omaha Holdem rules
3. Texas Hold'em rules
4. Ranking of poker hands