Omaha Hi-Lo

Omaha Hi-Lo is another variation of Omaha. In this variant the betting, blinds, and postings are exactly the same as in Omaha. The difference comes at the showdown, the pot is split between the holder of the highest hand, and the holder of the lowest hand, if the low hand qualifies.

To make a low hand, you must have 5 distinct cards with no pairs, and no card higher than an 8. Since you must use two cards to make your hand, two of the cards in your hand and three from the board all need to be 8 or lower. As straights and flushes do not count the best low hand is A-2-3-4-5 of any suit. Ranking starts with the highest of your low cards, so 7-6-5-4-3 is 7-low (highest card is 7) and would beat 8-7-5-4-3-2 is 8-low (highest card is 8). If two players make a low hand and have the same hi card, the next highest card loose, so 7-5-4-3-2 beats 7-6-4-3-2. If there is no low hand the entire pot goes to the high hand.

To start out with you receive four cards that only you can see. Five cards are dealt; face up on the table everyone can use. Each player must use two of the four cards on their hand and three from the table, to make a five-card hand. What makes Omaha Hi/Lo different to Omaha high is that each player potentially has two hands, a high hand and a low hand.

There are four rounds of betting. The betting starts from the player next to the dealer. It moves one place to the left, clockwise after each hand.

The variations of Omaha Hi/Lo at Ultimate Game Room are defined by their betting limits:

Limit Omaha High (there is a specified betting limit in each game and on each round of betting) Pot Limit Omaha High (a player can bet what is in the pot) No Limit Omaha High (a player can bet all of their chips at any time)

The Dealer Button

Omaha High Poker uses a small disc called the "dealer button" to indicate the dealer of each hand. At a new table, the first player seated will get the dealer button. Once a hand is completed, the dealer button then moves clockwise to the next player. This ensures that each player has the chance of playing early or late and that every player gets to post the "blind bets".

Note: During Single Table Tournaments the first player to get the dealer button is determined through a high card draw (each player is dealt one card; the player with the highest value card goes first. If two or more players have the same value card then they are ranked according to suit - high to low - spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs).

The blinds

The blinds are to ensure that there is money to play for to start out with. You have not seen your cards yet, so it is called a 'blind' bet. Before the game begins, two players post blinds. The player to the left of the dealer is small blind and the one next to him is big blind.

When a player sits down at an active table, they will be required to post the equivalent of the big blind. Also, to prevent "blinds" abuse, players are required to post the small blind and the big blind upon re-entry (returning from sitting out) to the game if both blinds are missed (only the big blind amount is posted as a live bet and the remainder is added directly to the pot). All players have the option of sitting out and waiting for the button to rotate to their position before starting to play.

Pre-flop

Here the four cards are dealt. The first round of betting starts and the game starts to heat up! The one next to the big blind starts and he has following options:

     Fold (throw his cards on the table and let his turn and option pass)
     Call (match the big blind and continue)
     Raise (increase the amount of the current bet)

When the betting returns to the big blind that player can choose to 'check' or stay in the game without adding anything to the pot. If the opponent has raised he has these options: fold, call or re-raise.

The bets in the first betting round are set at the lower limit of the stakes structure, so in a $10/$20 game the value of a bet is $10 while the raise is $20 (a raise includes a call of the previous bet plus an additional bet). In a $10/$20 game No Limit/Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo the value of a bet is $20 while a raise is $40 (a raise includes a call of the previous bet plus an additional bet)

The flop

Three cards are dealt face up on the table. All players can use these to make their five-card hand. Second betting round follows. The player first to act has the following options :

      Check (pass the option to the next player)
      Bet (increase the amount of the pot with a minimum of the big blind)

The turn

A fourth card is dealt face up on the table. The third betting round follows. The player first to act has the following options:

     Check (pass the option to the next player)
     Bet (increase the amount of the pot with a minimum of the big blind)

The river

The final card is dealt and the last betting round follows. The player first to act has the following options:

     Check (pass the option to the next player)
     Bet (increase the amount of the pot with a minimum of the big blind)

The showdown

If there is more than one player in the game, there is a showdown. Here all players reveal their cards and the best hand wins. If there is a no low hand the player with the best high hand wins the whole pot. If there is a low hand and a high hand the pot is split between the winning players. A player can also win the whole pot if they have the best high hand and the best low hand using the same set of cards. If two hands are identical they split the pot.

Betting Exceptions

In Limit Omaha High a maximum of four bets are allowed per player in a betting round - (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise and (4) cap. In No Limit and Pot Limit Omaha High the number of times a player can raise is not limited. In a Pot Limit game can a raise only be up to the amount of the pot. However, a player can not raise themselves (if a player raises and then all the remaining players call or fold, then the player who raised would not get an option to raise because they were the last to raise). A player is declared All-In if they do not have enough chips to call. This player is eligible for the portion of the pot to the point of their final bet.

All further bets by other players go to a "side pot" which any All-In players are excluded from.