Omaha Hi-Lo

Overview

Omaha Hi-Lo is a four-hole-card community-card game where the pot is split between the best high hand and the best qualifying low hand. The twist that trips up every newcomer: you must use exactly two of your hole cards and exactly three of the community cards to make each hand. No more, no less.

The Deal

1. Small blind and big blind are posted.
2. Each player is dealt four hole cards face down.
3. Preflop betting round. Action starts left of the big blind.
4. Flop: three community cards dealt face up.
5. Flop betting round.
6. Turn: a fourth community card.
7. Turn betting round.
8. River: a fifth and final community card.
9. River betting round.
10. Showdown.

The Exactly-Two Rule

This is the hardest rule for newcomers to internalize. On every hand you make:

• You use exactly two of your four hole cards.
• You use exactly three of the five community cards.
• You can use different pairs of hole cards for your high and low hands.

Example: your hole cards are A♥ 2♠ 9♦ K♣ and the board is 5♣ 6♣ 7♣ 8♦ 4♥. You can play A♠ 2♠ + 3-4-5 for a wheel low and use 9♦ K♣... no, that's a worthless high. The lesson: just because the board shows four clubs doesn't mean you have a flush — you'd need two clubs in your hand plus three on the board. One club in hand is nothing.

Qualifying Low

A low hand must be five unpaired cards all 8 or lower (ace counts low). If no player can make a qualifying low, the entire pot goes to the high hand (the high player scoops).

• Best possible low: A-2-3-4-5 ("the wheel") — which is also a straight for high.
• Low hands are read from the top card down: 7-5-3-2-A beats 7-6-4-3-A.
• Straights and flushes do not count against your low.

Pot Split

If both halves are won, the pot splits 50/50 between the high hand and the low hand. If no low qualifies, the high player takes the whole pot. The same player can win both halves — called a scoop.

Betting Structure

USAPOKER.LIVE serves Omaha Hi-Lo in pot-limit: the maximum bet or raise is the current size of the pot. More action than fixed-limit; less than no-limit.

Starting-Hand Tips

• Hands with A-2 are gold — they make the nut low on almost any 8-or-lower board.
• Hands that work both ways (A-2-K-K, A-2-3-4 double-suited) are scooping monsters.
• Four high cards (K-K-Q-Q) can only play for high. Fine if the board bricks for low; expensive if the pot splits.
• Avoid "danglers" — hands where only three of your four cards work together. You're paying for a card that will never play.

Hand Rankings (High)

1. Royal Flush
2. Straight Flush
3. Four of a Kind
4. Full House
5. Flush
6. Straight
7. Three of a Kind
8. Two Pair
9. One Pair
10. High Card

Standalone Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo is coming to USAPOKER.LIVE. In the meantime, Double Board Omaha uses the same hand-making rules on two boards.