How to Play Omaha Hi Lo

Omaha Hi Lo is the same game as Omaha with a little twist to it.  In this article, it is assumed that the reader does not know how to play Omaha.  Omaha is a game very similar to Texas Hold'em.  The objective of the game is to get the best five card poker hand possible.  The player with the best five card poker hand at the end of the hand wins.  In this case, (Omaha Hi Low) there is a twist to the game.  Not only does the player with the best five card poker hand win, but so does the player with the lowest five card poker hand.

Lowest Possible Five Card Poker Hand:

A, 2, 3, 4, 5

This hand is known as the wheel.  There is a very good chance that with this hand, you could take the high and the low. 

In this game each player is dealt four cards face down.  There will be five community cards dealt to the middle of the table, which any of the players can use with their hold cards to make the best five card poker hand, or in this case the best low hand.  There are a total of four rounds of betting in which each player will have the option to check, bet, raise or fold. 

Once the players are dealt their hole cards they will have a chance to bet.  The main thing to think about when dealing with hand selection, is that you must use two cards to make your hand, and you cannot use more then two cards to make your hand.  You can however use two different combinations of cards to make your hi hand and your low hand.  Again, you must use two cards, no more and no less.  After the betting from the first round takes place, it is time to continue on to the community cards.

The next thing that will happen will be the dealing of the first three community cards.  The dealer will lay out three cards face up.  These cards can be used to make your five card poker hand.  The idea is to combine two of your cards in your hand with the ones on the board to make the best hand.  The best hand in this game is both the hi hand and the low hand.

Following the first three cards will come another along with more betting.  After that round will be one more round of betting along with the final and fifth community card.  After the last community card is dealt, there will be the last round of betting followed by a showdown, where each player still in the hand will show their cards.

This is where it is important to pay attention.  This game can be tricky for a couple of different reasons.  The first is because you can only use two of your four cards.  The other part that people do not realize is that you MUST use two cards.  You cannot use only one of your hole cards to make a five card poker hand.  The other part that is tricky is the Hi Low part.  The player with the Hi hand will win half of the pot, while the player with the low hand will win the other half of the pot.  If one player has both the lowest and the highest hand they will win the entire pot.  This is the part that gets hard to understand.  Once you play the game a few times it will be like second nature.  There is a lot that goes into this game, and a lot to think about.  Omaha Hi Lo is definitely one of the more intense poker games.