How To Play Omaha Hi Lo Poker

Omaha Hi Lo Poker is a table-game in which the players at the table are each dealt four cards face down. After a round of betting the dealer then places three new cards in the center of the table face up. After a round of betting the dealer then places another card face up with the first three. This is repeated again until finally the last card dealt there are now five cards face up on the table.

Each player can use any two cards from their hand and any three from the five common cards in the center of the table to make the best high hand.

The same is done for the low hand except that the low hand must consist of five any five cards that are eight or lower and not of matching value. Ace two three four five makes up the best low hand. If there is a qualifying low hand, the high hand and the low hand split the pot equally between them.

The rule that the low or the high hand must always use two cards from the player's four is initially a trouble spot for new players as they forget this rule and bet a hand not using the two from their hand. After doing this once or twice, the new player gets this rule forcefully engrained in their mind.

The other part of Omaha that catches new players is the fact that lower hands very seldom win. Three of a kind is not a winner as often as it is in Holdem. There are many straights, flushes and full houses dealt in this game as each player has nine cards to make a hand. Ace deuce is a good starting hand for the low, but another player or two often ties it. When this happens, the high hand wins their half of the pot and the low hand players split what is left. What this means is you do not go crazy raising the hand with a low hand nut winner as it can be tied. The nut high hand can bet with impunity as the high hands are rarely tied.

The best hand that can be dealt in Omaha Hi Lo is a hand that is a scooper. This hand wins both the low and the high. Examples would be a five high straight or a five high low and an ace high flush. When you have this type of hand you are likely to win more than half the pot and very likely all of it.