Omaha Hi/Lo

Omaha is a Poker Game that is played by 2 to 8 players using a standard 52-card deck, without jokers. In Omaha each player gets 4 face down hole cards, and totally 5 face-up community cards on the table, dealt in 4 rounds.

Each deal ends with a betting round.

Player must use exactly two of the hole card in combination with three of the community cards on the table to get the highest ranked five card hand possible.

Player must also use exactly two of the hole card in combination with three of the cards on the table to get the lowest ranked five card hand.

The highest hand splits the pot with the lowest qualifying low hand to qualify for the low half of the pot, the low hand must be 8,7,6,5,4 or lower.

Dealer button
The dealer button determines who starts to act. At the start of the round, the dealer button is moved one step clockwise around the table, effectively changing the players positions in the game. The first player to act is the player immediately after the player with the dealer button and the player with the dealer button will therefore be the last to act.

Posting blinds
A blind is a bet that is posted before any cards have been dealt and serves the purpose of seeding the pot. In Omaha Hi-Lo two blinds are posted.

Small blind
The first blind is called the “small blind” and is usually half the size of the minimum bet of the game.

Big Blind
The second blind is called the “big blind” and is always the same size as the games minimum bet.

The first player to act posts the small blind and the next player after him posts the big blind. Additional blinds might need to be placed by players who just have arrived or returned to the table.

Hole cards
After the binds have been posted each player receives 4 cards, face down.

Betting round 1
Omaha uses standard poker betting practices. See the section “Standard betting in poker” for details.

The first round of betting differs from the following ones in that the two blinds already have been posted. Consequently, the first player to act is the third player after the dealer button and he won't have the choice to check, since he at least will need to call the big blind to remain in the game.

Also consequently, the player who posted the small blind will need to at least call the big blind to remain in the game even if no raise has been placed.

The player who posted the big blind can check if no raise has been placed, otherwise call.

Additional blinds might need to be placed by players who just have arrived or returned to the table.

The Flop
Dealer deals three community cards (the flop), face-up on the table.

Betting round 2
The first player to bet is the first player still in the hands after the dealer button. Other players follow clockwise around the table.

The Turn
Dealer deals one other community cards (the turn), face-up on the table.

Betting round 3
The first player to bet is the first player still in the hands after the dealer button. Other players follow clockwise around the table.

The River
Dealer deals one other community cards (the river), face-up on the table.

Betting round 4
The first player to bet is the first player still in the hands after the dealer button. Other players follow clockwise around the table.

Showdown - High
Once the forth betting round is completed, it's time for show down. Any two of the hole cards and three of the community cards combined to create a five card high hand and any two of the hole cards and three of the community cards combined to create a five card low hand.

For high hand, Omaha Hi-Lo uses standard poker showdown practices. See the section “Standard showdown” for details.

Showdown - Low
For low hand, Omaha Hi-Lo uses the following showdown practices:

Not all hands are qualified as low hands:

To qualify, player needs to create a hand with all cards 8 or lower. Consequently, three of the community cards must be 8 or lower, to allow players to qualify for low hands.

Aces are played as either high or low, straights and flushes does not disqualify a hand for low.