Learn about Omaha Hi-Lo Poker and how it has all the same action as Omaha poker, and more. Like other Hi-Lo Poker games, there are 2 winning hands: the highest and the lowest split the pot.
Just like in Omaha Poker, the rules are that each player gets 4 pocket cards face down and 5 community cards dealt face up. The winning hand must have 2 pocket cards, and 3 community cards.
While the set up for Omaha Poker and its Hi-Lo sister are pretty much the same, in Hi-Lo 2 hands split the pot: the highest and the lowest. A low hand can't have any card higher than an 8 and in Omaha Hi-Lo rules there are no straights or flushes.
For example, get an A, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of spades and you might win highest hand with the ace as high card. You'll likely win lowest hand too with the 5 as your highest low card. Aces play as both high and low.
Omaha Hi-Lo Hands
The highest hand follows the hand rankings standard to all poker rules. A low hand is always ranked from its highest card downwards, with the lowest high card taking the lead.
If two players have the same high card, then the next lowest card is used, and so on. If all hands have a card higher than an 8, then none rank as a low hand and the highest hand takes the whole pot.
Omaha Hi-Lo Stakes
Let's start with how to pick the right table. The limit, or min and max bet and raise amounts for each round are preset. Look for the FL (Fixed Limit) and PL (Pot Limit) symbol alongside games posted in our Lobby to find the stakes or small and big bet.
Fixed Limit: Bet and raise amounts for each round are preset.
Pot Limit:The amount of the current pot.
Read more on Game Limits.
Pre-Flop
The button is a graphic symbol that identifies who the dealer is. It moves clockwise after each hand to the next active player.
The blinds are mandatory bets posted at the start of each hand, before any cards are dealt, determined by the small and big bets for that game. Any player that wants to stay in the hand must match the big blind.
The player to the left of the dealer is the first player to get cards, the first to act and the one that posts the small blind. The big blind is posted by the second player, to the left of the small blind.
Example: $10/$20 Fixed Omaha Hi-Lo poker game
Small blind bet: $5 (half of $10). Big blind bet:$10.
Any player has the option of sitting out and waiting for the big blind to reach them. If a player sits out and misses posting the big blind, they'll have to post a big blind to get back in. This stops players from leaving the table before having to post the blinds.
Post-Flop
The dealer then turns over 3 community cards, called the flop. The player to the left of the dealer begins the betting. The action goes around the table as players choose to check, call, raise or fold, returning to the players who posted the blinds.
Then the fourth community card dealt is called fourth street or the turn, which starts another round of betting. In Fixed Limit games the bet increases to the upper stake. Betting continues until all bets are called.
The river is the final community card dealt face up, and begins the last round of betting. The bet amount for Fixed Limit games is the big stake.
Showdown
The showdown happens when all bets have been called. The last player to bet or raise shows their hand first. If all players checked through and nobody bet on the river, the player to the left of the dealer show first with action continuing clockwise, unless a hand is weaker than the winning hand shown. In this case, you can show, or fold without showing, called a muck. If you make a bet and all the other players fold, you ‘buy the pot' and have the option to show or muck your cards. That's where the bluffing comes in.
The highest and lowest 5-card hands split the pot. A player must use 2 pocket cards and 3 community cards to win either the high or the low, or both. If the pot doesn't split evenly, it's called an uneven split pot and the player with the high hand takes the extra chips.