Omaha HiLo

High-low games are split-pot affairs, in which the highest hand takes half the pot and the lowest hand, if there is one, takes the other half. If there is no qualifying low hand or if the high hand is also the low hand (which is possible), the high hand “scoops the pot” and takes it all.

Omaha Hi-Lo is the split-pot version of Omaha hold’em. Each player receives four hole cards, and then, after the opening round of betting, five board cards are revealed in three more betting rounds (with a flop of three, a turn card and a river card).

Aces can be high or low. Straights and flushes do not count to disqualify a low hand. Any hand with a card higher than an eight is disqualified as a low hand. Thus, the “nuts” for a low hand is ace-to-five, all of different ranks. Players must use two of their hole cards and three board cards to comprise the high hand and the low hand, but the card selection need not be the same for both.

If three of the five board cards are either higher than 8 or, if 8 or lower, are paired, then no low is possible for that hand. Middle-range cards are undesirable, as they tend to lose both on the low end and the high end. The worst opening hand is four deuces. Only two of them can be played, and only for the high hand, where there is no chance of having any more.