What is Omaha Hi / Lo?

Omaha Hi / Lo and common Omaha are quite similar. The only difference is that there is a big change in strategy. The basic premise for Omaha Hi / Lo is that there are two winning hands in each game: the best (highest) and worst (lowest) hands that divide the pot.

The rest of the game is exactly the same as ordinary Omaha, each player starts with four cards facing down. Five community cards are dealt looking up, and the lowest and highest hands divide the pot. The winning hand must have two cards from its own hand and three community cards.

Things get more interesting from now on; for a hand to be rated as low, it cannot have any card higher than 8. Since aces count as high card and low card at the same time, the lowest possible hand is Ace-2-3-4-5.

Except in Omaha Hi / Lo, any hand that qualifies as low will not be affected by the sequence it is in or the colors. This creates a very interesting situation: it is possible to qualify at the same time with the highest hand and the lowest hand in the same game. If you win both, you will win the entire pot. The rest is equal to regular Omaha.

To verify the highest hands, click here.

Omaha Rules:

Stakes

Stakes depend on the type of game you choose. For a Fixed Limit game, stakes determine the value of bets and raises in each round. Let's see an example with stakes of USD 5 / USD 10.

In the first two betting rounds, both bets and raises must be USD 5, no more, no less. The last two rounds have a stake value and raises of USD 10.

Top

In Omaha, each betting round supports one bet and has a maximum of three allowed raises, known as top. When making a bet, the bet can only be increased three times, after this, all players must pay or leave. If only two players remain, the top goes up to a maximum of five increases.

In both Pot Limit games and No Limit games, the range of bets is represented by the value bet as blinds.

Blinds

Blinds are mandatory bets made by two players at the start of each hand, before the cards are dealt. The player to the left of the dealer pays the small blind, which in a Fixed Limit game is half the minor stake. In Pot Limit or No Limit games the small blind equals the lowest value bet. The player to his left pays the big blind, which in a Fixed Limit game is equal to the small stake. In Pot Limit or No Limit games this is the big bet.

Let's go back to the USD 5 / USD 10 betting example:

In a Fixed Limit game, the small blind is USD 2.50 (half USD 5) and the big blind is USD 5.
In a USD 5 / USD 10 game with Pot Limit / No Limit, the small blind pays USD 5 and the big blind USD 10.

In Omaha we use blinds as an incentive for players to participate in a hand and grow the pot. We recommend you to consider blinds as a mandatory bet and raise. Any player who wants to play a hand must pay the big blind to stay in play. Blinds are considered live bets, so when the turn is completed and a new round comes, players have the option to check, pay, raise, or leave.

Players have the option to leave or wait their turn to pay the big blind. However, if a player chooses not to participate he loses the opportunity to make the big blind before returning. This rule exists to prevent abuse by players who enter a table and leave before having to pay the blinds.

Dealer button

The dealer button is a graphic symbol that represents the position of the dealer. After each hand the button moves clockwise to the next active player, who becomes the dealer for that hand. This player is considered to be “on the button” and is the last person to act in the betting round. The first player would be the one to the left of the button and is the first to receive the cards and act on each betting round.

Now, it’s time to play

You bought a place at the table, you are sitting and you already paid the big blind, what comes next?

- Pré-flop

The dealer distributes four face-down cards to each player (only the player can see his cards). Once the cards are dealt to all players, the player responsible for the big blind must decide whether to call, raise, or fold. Each player must decide whether to leave or stay (when his winch arrives) until all the bets are made and the turn of the player who paid the big blind comes again.

Don’t forget that we’re talking about a Fixed Limit game so any increase is limited to the minor stake. In a Pot Limit game, the bet cannot exceed that value.

- Flop

After the pre-flop, the dealer shows the first three community cards called the “flop”. All betting rounds start with the player to the left of the dealer. For Fixed Limit games, this betting round is done using the lowest stake. In our example of USD 5 / USD 10 game, any bet must be USD 5. The rules of games with pot limits or unlimited are not modified.

- Turn or fourth community card

When the dealer reveals the fourth community card a new betting round begins. The bet value in fixed limit games is increased to the value of the highest stake. The round continues until all bets are made.

- River

Here, the last community card is revealed, and the last round of betting begins. The bet value for fixed limit games continues to be the maximum bet.

- Showdown

Now, all bets have been placed and it is time to show the cards. The last player to bet or raise during the final betting round is the first to show his cards. If all players check, that is, if no one bets on the river, the player to the left of the dealer will be the first to show his cards.

The remaining players' hands will automatically display clockwise, unless one hand is less than the displayed non-winning hand. In this case, there is the option to show or muck without showing. The best five-card hand gets the pot.

In Omaha, every winning hand must consist of two cards from the proper hand and three community cards.

- Buy the pot

If all players fold during a round you win the pot. You can choose to show or not (muck) your cards.