Omaha Hi Lo Poker Rules

The rules of Omaha H/L are very similar to those of Omaha with one key difference:  the player with the best high hand wins half the pot and the player with the best low hand wins the other half.

One player may qualify for both the high and low hand and “scoop” the entire pot.  Omaha H/L uses the same hands as Texas Hold'em to determine the high hand.  The low hand consists of five cards all ranking lower than an eight.  The best low hand possible is A 2 3 4 5.  To determine the best low hand, look at which hand ends with the lowest number.  For example, 3 4 5 6 7 would beat A 2 3 4 8.

Aces can qualify as both low and high cards so it is possible for one person to scoop both the high and low sides of the pot with a hand like A 2 3 4 5.

If more than one person qualifies for the best high or low hand, that half of the pot is divided in half among the tying players (this is called quartering).

For the complete Omaha High/Low Poker rules list, please read on.

The Dealer

Each hand begins with the player who has the button.  The button is a small disc that says “dealer” and it is used to represent the dealer.  This player doesn’t physically deal any cards, it’s just a marker of position.

The Blinds

The blinds must ante up a little bit of money to get a pot started each hand.  The small blind usually antes up half the minimum bet and is located directly to the left of the dealer.  The big blind antes up a single minimum bet and is located directly to the left of the small blind.

Preflop

Next each player is dealt four cards face down, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer.  After all the players have received their cards, there is a round of betting beginning with the player directly to the left of the big blind.

The Flop

After all the bets have been equalized, the dealer then burns a card and deals three cards face up in the middle of the table.  These three cards make up the flop.  After the flop has been dealt, there is another round of betting beginning with the player directly to the left of the dealer.

The Turn

After all the bets have been equalized, the dealer burns another card and then deals one card face up in the middle of the table.  After the turn has been dealt, there is another round of betting exactly the same as the last round.

The River

The dealer burns another card and deals the final community card face up next to the turn.  There is one last round of betting exactly the same as the last round.

The players that are left after this round of betting then have a showdown.  The player with the best five card poker hand wins the high half of the pot and the player with the best low hand wins the low half of the pot.  They may use any three of the community cards and two of their hole cards to create their hands.

*Note – A major difference between Hold ‘Em and Omaha H/L is that the players in Omaha H/L MUST use exactly two of their hole cards and three from the board.

For example, if the five community cards ended up being 2568K of hearts, then all players still in the pot would NOT have a flush because they are not allowed to play the board – they must use two of their hole cards.  To have a flush in this example, the player would have to have two hearts in his hand.

The End

The dealer’s button moves one spot to the left, the cards are shuffled and another hand of poker may begin.  Now that you're ready to play, read up on our Omaha Hi Lo Poker Strategy so you'll be a winner!

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