Omaha Hi-Lo Rules

Omaha Hi/Lo is also sometimes called Omaha 8/b and it is quite a profitable game for poker players who take the time to learn it properly. Most people who play the game do so with little knowledge of the proper strategy and these people make the Omaha 8/b games soft at every poker site.

The mechanics of the game are identical to those of Omaha poker. The blinds are set up the same, each player is dealt four cards and there are four betting rounds just like in normal Omaha poker. The difference between the two games comes from the additional qualifying “low” hands in Omaha 8/b.

Omaha 8/b Low Hands

The player with the best qualifying low hand in Omaha 8/b will win half the pot in a showdown. To qualify for a low hand, a player’s hand must contain 5 cards that are 8 or lower with no pairs in the hand. Straights and flushes don’t count against you.

Aces can count as low in Omaha 8/b so the best possible low hand is A-2-3-4-5, which is also called the “bicycle.” The winner of the low hand is determined by the player who has the lowest high card in the hand. If two players have the same high card, the next-highest card is used to determine the winner. In the case of A-2-3-5-8 vs. A-4-5-6-8, the highest card in both hands is 8, so we look at the next card. The next highest card in each hand is a 5 and a 6, so the hand containing A-2-3-5-8 would win the low half of the pot.

The high half of the pot is played according to normal poker rules. The best five card hand wins the high half of the pot. If nobody has a qualifying low hand, the high hand wins the whole pot instead of just half the pot.

Certain low hands can also sometimes qualify for the high hand.  If the lowest hand is A-2-4-6-7 (all of the same suit), it would win the low half of the pot as a 7 low. If nobody had anything better than a flush, this hand would also win the high half of the pot as a flush.

Note – Just as in normal Omaha, you must use exactly two cards from your hand and three cards from the board when making your Omaha 8/b hands. One neat thing though is that you can use two cards for your low hand and then use two completely different cards when qualifying for the high hand.

Quartering

Occasionally two players will tie for one side of the pot and will have to split that half of the pot in half. If two players end up with the same low hand, for example, each player would get 1/4th of the entire pot.

Getting quartered is almost always a bad thing because it usually ends up returning less money than what you paid into the pot. Every once in a while you’ll make a little money if there was a lot of action early in the hand but that doesn’t happen very often.

Rules of the Game

If you already know the rules of Texas Holdem or Omaha poker, you’ll feel right at home with Omaha Hi / Lo. Each hand of Omaha Hi/Lo begins with the dealer’s button which is a small disc that represents the dealer. The dealer’s button moves one spot to the left at the beginning of every hand.

The Blinds

Omaha uses a standard blind system in which the two players to the left of the dealer pay small antes equal to one-half and one full minimum bet. The player directly to the left of the dealer pays the small blind and the player to the left of the small blind pays the big blind. In a $1/2 pot limit Omaha 8/b game, the small blind would be $1 and the big blind would be $2. In a $5/$10 fixed limit game, the small blind would be $2.50 and the big blind would be $5.

Preflop Play

After the blinds have been posted, each player is dealt four cards face down. These are called the “hole” cards and will be used in combination with the community cards to make your final hand(s).

Once the cards have all been dealt, there is a round of betting. The action begins with the player to the left of the big blind and he may call the minimum bet to stay in, fold his cards or raise. If any player makes a raise, all the other players at the table must at least match this raise or fold their hands.

The Flop

Now the dealer places three cards face up in the middle of the table. These are community cards and all the players may use them to make their poker hands.

There is another round of betting but this time the action begins with the first player to the left of the dealer. This play may check, bet, raise or fold. If any player makes a bet or raise, the other players at the table must either match that bet or fold.

The Turn

The dealer places one more card face up next to the flop. There is another round of betting identical to the previous round of betting.

The River

One final community card is dealt face up next to the turn card. There is one last round of betting identical to the previous round of betting.

After all the bets have been matched, the players still in the pot may now reveal their hands. The player with the lowest “Lo” hand wins half the pot and the player with the best high hand wins the high half of the pot. If there is no qualifying low hand, the player with the best high hand wins the entire pot.

Best Poker Site for Omaha Hi / Lo

I feel guilty for listing PokerStars as number 1 every time, but once again, PokerStars is the best place to play this form of poker. PokerStars really is the best place for all of these less popular games because there are so many people online at PokerStars that you can usually find tables running. If you’re new to PokerStars, use this link to get started and you’ll get a $50 sign-up bonus.

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