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Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008
Omaha High vs. Omaha Hi-Lo
By PokerListings.com
Conveniently for those who know Omaha High, Omaha Hi-Lo is played according to almost identical rules.
The only time the High and Hi-Lo differ rules-wise is at the showdown.
Omaha Hi-Lo, also known as Omaha High-Low, O8 and Omaha 8-or-Better, is one of the most popular and entertaining forms of poker in the world.
Because this article only details the differences between Omaha High and Omaha Hi-Lo, if you aren't familiar with the rules and game play of Omaha High, you're going to want to read this article:
Assuming you understand how to play Omaha High, let's look at what distinguishes the two games.
Omaha Hi-Lo Showdown Rules
Omaha Hi-Lo is a "split pot" game, meaning that at showdown, the pot is divided in half, with one half being awarded to the winning best hand, and the other half to the best qualifying "low hand."
The High
The winning high hand in Omaha Hi-Lo is identical to that of Omaha High. There are no qualification requirements for the high, meaning there will always be a winning high hand.
The Low
Low hands must qualify to be eligible for winning the low half of the pot.
- A low hand is composed of any two cards from a player's hand, and any three cards from the board (community cards).
- The cards a player uses for his best High hand have no effect on the low. The player can use the same cards, different ones or a combination from his hand.
- A qualifying low hand is defined as five unpaired cards, all with ranks at or below 8.
- Aces are considered low for the low hand.
- Flushes and straights do not count for the low, meaning the best low possible is A-2-3-4-5.
- Low hands are counted from the top down, meaning the hand is only as good as its highest card. For example:
- 2
3
5
6 7 is lower than A 2 3 4 8
- 2
- Any hand with a pair, or with a card higher than 8, does not qualify, even if the rank of the pair is below 8.
- Suits do not count toward a low; any players sharing the exact same low must equally split the low half of the pot. (Winning half of the Low pot, and nothing from the High pot is known as being quartered.)
A hand example:
Board: 4 5 7 Q A
Hand 1: A 2 K K
Hand 2: A 3 Q Q
High Winner: Hand 2 wins with three-of-a-kind queens: Q Q Q A 7
Low Winner: Hand 1 wins with a 7-5-4-2 Low: 7 5 4 2 A
Here's a more difficult one for you:
Board: K 3 4 8 2
Hand 1: A 2 Q K
Hand 2: 6 7 T J
High Winner: Hand 2 wins with a flush, jack-high: 2 3 4 T J
Low Winner: Hand 2 Wins with a 7-6 Low: 7 6 4 3 2
In this pot, Hand 2 scoops with the best high and the best low. Many players will think that Hand 1 will win the low because A-2 is a lot lower than 6-7.
Unfortunately, Hand 1 pairs his 2 on the river, meaning he has to use the 8 as his fifth card to make a qualifying Low hand. Even though the majority of Hand 2's cards are higher, Hand 2 is able to use the three lowest cards on the board, making for a low of only seven-high.
General Rules
- If there is an extra odd chip, unable to be split in half, this chip is always added to the pot awarded to the winning high hand.
- If there is no qualifying low hand, the entire pot is awarded to player with the winning high hand.
- Players can win one or both halves of the pot with the same or different cards from their hand.
- A player does not have to announce what half of the pot she's playing for at the beginning of the hand. This is only required in other variations of poker, known as "declare" games.
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Comment(s) on this article
julia Nov 3, 2008
if you have a pair of sixes in your hand and 3 6 on the board can you play 4 sixes
Sean Lind Nov 4, 2008
I'm not too sure what you're asking here? If you have a pair of sixes in your hand, and there are two sixes on the board, you play four of a kind.
If you have three sixes in your hand and one on the board, you only have trips.
Jim Jan 18, 2009
In Omaha H/L which hand is lower 76532 or 7654A?
Sean Lind Jan 20, 2009
Jim, In Omaha H/L (O8) you always count the low from the top down.
Player 1:76532
Player 2:7654A
Because you count from the top down, 3 is lower than 4, making player 1 the winner.
John Apr 10, 2009
ok if you have a 65432 straight does that beat 75432 the 75432 is the worst hand. in the above rules it states you can have no straights or flushes and A2345 is a straight any comments on that
Sean Lind Apr 11, 2009
Hey John, you're getting two games mixed up here.
In a lowball game, such as 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, the best low hand is: 75432
In a lowball game aces are high and straights count against you.
In a hi-lo split game, it works differently. Aces are low, and straights mean nothing. Above it reads:
Flushes and straights do not count for the low, meaning the best low possible is A-2-3-4-5.
rick May 19, 2009
I was playing hi lo in a cashgame when the following occured:
I had AH2H to a low
the board read 34k 7 2
being pot commited i pushed the remainder of my stack. luckily for me my opponent was playing a hi and had no cards to a low. the dealer then told me my 2 did not qualify because the 2 on the river counterfited. He said I had no low at all, since there was a 2 on the board i couldn't use the 2 in my hand I believed I had a 7432HAH low. Was i correct in assuming any two cards in my hand (under eight) along with any three cards (under eight) on the board make a low, as long as those five cards are each a different number
Sean Lind May 20, 2009
Rick, you're right, the dealer's wrong.
You need 5 cards all valued 8 or less to have a low. Out of those 5 cards, none can be paired with each other.
You had A-2-3-4-7 as your low. Because your 2 paired on the river, it forced you to play the 7 for a 7-4 low, meaning anyone with something like A5, or even 56 would have beat you.
Since your opponent had no cards to the low, that half of the pot was yours.
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