Sep 11, 2012 Omaha is an exciting poker variant, and although it bears a striking similarity to Texas Hold’em, it stands in a class of its own. Once poker players have understood the basic rules of playing Omaha Poker and played a few games for real money, they would want to know the secrets of playing a winning game of Omaha Poker. Here are 10 tricks to winning at Omaha Poker.
Omaha Hi Lo Poker Basics
Omaha Hi/Lo also known as “Omaha/8” is one of the most popular variants of Omaha poker marked by an interesting showdown. It is a split pot game in which the money in the pot is equally divided between two players – One who makes a High Hand and another who makes the best qualifying Low Hand.
Sit and Go (SNG) and Multi Table Tournament (MTT) formats do not support Omaha Hi/Lo variant.
How to Play Omaha Hi/Lo
Similar to the regular Pot Limit and No Limit Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo online is played between 2 to 9 players with the 52 cards deck. Each player is dealt 4 private cards visible to them only. 5 community cards are dealt face up on the table in three rounds – Flop, Turn and River. A player needs to essentially use 2 hole cards and 3 community cards to form a winning hand. A player forming the highest hand as per regular poker hand ranking wins the half of the pot at showdown. One who forms the best qualifying low hand as per the Omaha Hi/Lo rules wins the other half of the pot. A player can use same or different hole card to complete his High and Low hand.
In case, if none of the players has a low hand on the table, the player making best high hand wins the full pot. A player who makes both – the best high hand and the best low hand scoops the pot which means winning the full pot.
Omaha Hi/Lo betting rules
The betting rules in Omaha Hi/Lo remain same as PLO (also known as Omaha Hi) game. The button moves clockwise every time after a game and the immediate player left to the previous dealer becomes the new dealer. When the first game starts on a new table, that player becomes dealer who sits nearest to the left of dealer girl image in game area and is not 'sit-out' or disconnected. In a heads-up game, dealer becomes small blind. Once the dealer is chosen and marked with a dealer button, betting round starts as per the rules of the game variant. The player sitting left to the dealer puts in the small blind and the one sitting next to him in a clockwise turn puts in the big blind before the hole cards are dealt. Although blind amounts are pre-decided for each game depending on the stakes, the Big Blind always remains twice the amount of the Small blind.
Betting in Omaha Hi/Lo proceeds in four rounds – Preflop, Flop, Turn and River.
A player can take any of the below-mentioned actions in Omaha Hi/lo at his turn to act. Actions depend on the situation on the table and not all of them are available on each turn:
Call: Match the highest bet amount on the table in the ongoing round of the game.
Raise: If other players have already bet in the same round, a player can increase the size of the existing bet.
Check: To continue in the game without betting any further. This action can be taken by any player only if he has already posted Big Blind at Pre Flop and if no one has yet opened the betting round.
Fold: Leave the ongoing game by surrendering the hole cards to the dealer and wait for the next game.
All-in: Player can do all in but only up to the size of the pot.
Omaha Hi/Lo Game Play
The Omaha Hi/Lo online poker game starts with two players putting in the Small and Big Blinds. The game proceeds in a clockwise turn of action by each player as per the Omaha Hi/Lo betting rules. Let’s take an example of 4-player Omaha Hi/Lo gameplay.
Player 1 gets A♠ 8♦ J♦ 5♠
Player 2 gets Q♣ 8♠ 10♥ 7♥
Player 3 gets 6♥ 10♣ 9♥ 3♥
Player 4 gets A♥ 9♦ 2♠ 10♦
The primary betting round is the 'Pre Flop' that begins with the player sitting to the left of the Big Blind & proceeds clockwise round the table. The pre flop round is followed by flop, turn and river. The betting rounds in Omaha Hi/Lo game are explained below:-
Pre Flop
Once cards are dealt, player sitting to the left of the Big Blind start the preflop round of betting.In this round, each player, at his turn, takes an action (call, fold, or raise the bet) in a clockwise manner. The Betting goes round the table until each active player (who has not folded) have bet equal amounts in the pot.
In our gameplay example, Player 2 folded in preflop betting round while other made equal bets and continued in the game.
Flop
Once the preflop round of betting ends, 3 community cards are dealt on the table known as Flop. Each player gets a chance to act (call, fold, raise, check, or bet all in) in a clockwise round of turns which goes on till all the active players have placed equal bets in the pot.
In our gameplay example, 3 Flop cards 6♠ K♠ 4♣ opened on the table following which Player 3 folded while Player 1 and Player 2 bet equal amounts to continue in the game.
Turn
After the Flop round of betting is complete, the turn card in dealt face up on the table which sets off the turn round of betting. The rules of the turn betting round are exactly the same as the flop.
In our gameplay example, Turn card 3♠ is dealt following which both the players checked and the turn round ended with that.
River
After the turn round of betting is over, the fifth community card is dealt on the table known as River. The betting again continues similar to the Turn round.
In our gameplay example, River card Q♥ is dealt following which Player 4 went All-in which Player 1 called.
Showdown
The cards of each live player in displayed which is termed as the Showdown. The cards of the player forming High Hand are move upwards first and he wins half of the pot. Now, the cards of the players forming Low Hand is move upwards and he takes the remaining half of the money in the pot.
In our gameplay example, Player 1 wins half of the pot with the High Hand: Flush - A♠K♠6♠ 5♠3♠. Player 4 wins the other half of the pot with the Low Hand: 6 Low - 6♠4♣3♠2♠A♥.
Table Of Contents
What is Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker?
If you know how to play pot-limit Omaha (or 'Omaha high'), you are well on your way to learning how to play Omaha hi-lo.
As the name suggests, Omaha hi-lo is a 'split-pot' version of Omaha poker in which players compete for both the 'high' and 'low' halves of the pot. Omaha hi-lo is usually played with fixed-limit betting and often turns up in 'mixed game' formats like H.O.R.S.E. (in which Omaha hi-lo is the 'O') or the popular 8-game mix.
You will sometimes see the game referred to simply as 'Omaha 8' or even 'O/8' or more elaborately as 'Omaha hi-lo split-pot-8-or-better.' The name gets styled differently, too, as 'Omaha High-Low,' 'Omaha poker high-low' and so on.
Pot-limit and no-limit versions of Omaha hi-lo are also popular, especially online either as cash games or tournaments.
Rules For Omaha Poker Hi-lo
How to Play Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker
The basic rules for Omaha hi-lo are very similar to pot-limit Omaha. See 'How to Play Omaha Poker' for an overview of how to play Omaha poker, which is itself a variation on regular Texas hold'em.
Just like in pot-limit Omaha, players are dealt four cards in Omaha hi-lo and are required to use two of those four cards in combination with three community cards in order to make a five-card poker hand.
As in hold'em or pot-limit Omaha, if a player bets and everyone folds before the showdown, the player wins the pot without having to show a hand. However, if the final bet is called and there is a showdown, hands are examined to see who has the best 'high' hand and who has the best 'low' hand, with each winning one-half of the pot.
Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Rules
In Omaha hi-lo, the 'high' hand is determined exactly the same way as in hold'em or Omaha 'high' games (like PLO), following traditional hand rankings.
The 'low' hand requires a little more explanation, especially if you are new to split-pot games or hi-lo poker.
First of all, whatever cards you use to make your high hand, that makes no difference when making your low hand. You can use the same two cards, the other two cards, or any combination just as long as you use two cards from your four-card hand plus three of the community cards to build your five-card poker hand.
The rules of Omaha hi-lo is usually played with a 'qualifier' for the low hand, meaning all of the cards making up a low hand have to be ranked eight or lower. That's where the 'split-8-or-better' comes from, a phrase usually added to the name of the game.
A qualifying low hand consists of five unpaired cards ranked eight or lower. For the low hand, the ace is considered a low card (the lowest), while it can also serve as the highest-ranking card in high hands.
Also worth noting — if your lowest five cards make a straight or a flush, that doesn't matter in Omaha hi-lo, you've still got a low hand (if all are ranked eight or lower). In other 'lowball' games like 2-7 no-limit triple draw, flushes and straights hurt you by making your low hand higher, but in Omaha hi-lo that is not the case.
That means a hand consisting of 5-4-3-2-A would be the lowest possible hand — that is to say, the best 'low hand' in Omaha hi-lo. This hand is sometimes called a 'wheel.' The next lowest possible hand is 6-4-3-2-A. The worst low hand that qualifies as a low in Omaha hi-lo would be 8-7-6-5-4.
A good way to figure out which low hand is best is to arrange the hand from highest card to lowest card and then to think of the hand as a five-digit number, with the lowest number being the best (or lowest) hand. Thus 5-4-3-2-A (54321) is better than 6-4-3-2-A (64321), and 6-4-3-2-A is better than 6-5-3-2-A (65321) and so on.
An Example of an Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker Hand
Let's say a hand of Omaha hi-lo goes to showdown with the final board reading 6♣3♠K♦Q♦.
You hold A♣K♠7♦4♣, and your opponent has Q♠J♦4♦2♠.
Your best possible high hand is two pair, aces and kings — using the A♣ and K♠ in your hand pairing them with the ace and king on board, with the queen being a kicker.
Your best possible low hand is 7-6-4-3-A — using the 7♦ and 4♣ in your hand along with the three low cards on the board. Note how you can't use the ace in your hand when making your low hand, since you have to use exactly two cards in your hand and three on the board (and there is an ace on the board).
Your opponent, meanwhile, has you beat both for the high and the low!
Your opponent's best possible high hand is a flush — using the two diamonds in his hand (J♦ and 4♦) and the three diamonds on the board.
Your opponent's best possible low hand is 6-4-3-2-A — using the 4♦ and the 2♠ in his hand along with the three low cards on the board. 64321 is lower than 76431, so your opponent has you beat.
Winning both halves of the pot like this is called a 'scoop' or 'scooping,' which is something you always want to try to do when playing split-pot or hi-lo poker games.
Rules For Omaha Poker Game
Sometimes in Omaha hi-lo there is no qualifying low hand. This is the case whenever there are less than three unpaired cards ranked eight or lower on the board.
For example, if the board is 9♣K♦A♥4♥J♠, there are only two cards ranked eight or lower on the board (the ace and four), which means it is impossible for anyone to make a low hand. When that happens, whoever has the best high hand scoops the whole pot.
Omaha Poker Low Hand Rules
Conclusion
Rules For Omaha
Omaha hi-lo is not difficult to learn, especially if you already know how to play pot-limit Omaha. The strategy can be complicated, though, with a great deal of importance placed on understanding what are strong starting hands (e.g., hands containing an ace with at least one or two low cards, especially a deuce) and not making the mistake of battling for only half of the pot (just the high or low).