A Beginners’ Guide to Omaha Hi/Lo
Omaha Hi/Lo (more precisely, Omaha Hi/Lo Eight or better) is a form of poker which uses community cards. Like Omaha High, the game uses similar poker rules to Texas Hold’em, except each player receives four hole cards instead of two. The Hi/Lo version is played using regular Omaha High poker rules, except at the showdown, the pot is split with one half awarded to the best high hand, and one half awarded to the best qualifying low hand (a qualifying low hand is an 8-low or better, and will be explained in detail later on). The following guide describes the poker rules for a Fixed Limit Omaha Hi/Lo hand.

Pre-Flop
The size of the blinds is determined by the table’s betting limits – the small blind is equal to half the lower bet amount, and the big blind is equal to the lower bet amount. For example – in a $2/$4 Fixed Limit Omaha Hi/Lo game, the small blind (SB) would be $1 and the big blind (BB) would be $2. At the start of a hand, the player to the left of the dealer button posts the small blind, and the player to his left posts the big blind. Then, starting with the small blind, four cards are dealt face down to each player, and the action begins with the player to the left of the big blind, who is referred to as being “under the gun”. He may fold (muck his hand and take no further action in the pot), call (put in an amount equal to the big blind) or raise (put in an amount twice the big blind).

Play continues in this manner around the table until all players have matched the current bet amount or folded. The blinds posted at the start of the hand are considered live and contribute to the players’ bet – if no one raises before action gets round to the big blind, he has the option of checking and seeing a flop, or raising and re-opening the betting. Normal fixed limit poker rules dictate there is a maximum of 3 raises on any betting round.

The Flop
Once all pre-flop betting is complete, it’s time to move on to the flop. Three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These are community cards which anyone can use as part of their final five card poker hand. Now, the betting begins with the first player left of the dealer button who remains in the hand, who has the option to check or bet. Bets at this stage are of the lower betting limit, which is the same as the big blind (so $2 in the same $2/$4 game). A check is simply declining the opportunity to bet, and can only be done if there have been no bets so far. Play continues in a clockwise direction until all players have matched the required bet or folded, and then we continue to the turn.

Turn & River
A fourth community card, called the turn, is now dealt face up next to the flop, and another round of betting ensues. In Fixed Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, the betting is almost identical to the flop, except now the larger betting limit comes into play, so all bets are doubled (making bets $4 in our $2/$4 game). Once this is done, a fifth and final community card, called the river, is now dealt face up next to the turn card and there is a final round of betting, which is identical to the turn with one exception – if only two players remain then an unlimited number of raises are permitted. Once all bets are matched then it’s time for the showdown.

What is a low hand?
In Omaha Hi/Lo, it is not only the best hand which can win. The best qualifying low hand wins half the pot too. A qualifying low hand must consist of five cards of different values, eight or lower. For example, A2478 is a qualifying low hand, A2278 and A5789 are not. Straights and flushes do not count against you, so A2345 (also known as the wheel) is the nut low. Remember, you must use two cards from your hand and three cards from the board when making your five card low hand.

Showdown
All players still left in the hand at this stage now turn their cards over, starting with the first player to the left of the button. In Omaha Hi/Lo, each player must use exactly two cards from his hand, and three cards from the board to form the best possible five card hand using standard poker rules, and also the best possible qualifying low hand. Different combinations of cards can be used to form high and low hands. The best high hand at the showdown wins half the pot, and the best low hand wins half the pot. If there is no qualifying low hand, the high hand takes the entire pot. If there are two or more hands of the same value for either high or low, then the relevant half of the pot is then split up again, into equal parts.

Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Poker Rules.
If Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo is being played (No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo is rarely, if ever, played), the game plays in the same way with the following poker rules exceptions:

Bets can be of any size between the big blind and the current pot size.

Raises can be of any size between the size of the previous bet and the current pot size.

There is no limit to the number of raises permitted.

The table stakes ($0.25/$0.50, $3/$6 etc.) represent the size of the blinds, not bet sizes.