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How to Play Omaha Hi-Low
Since today's tournament is half Omaha hi-low and half seven-card stud hi-low, we figured you'd better know how to play each to get the most out of our coverage. For those who may be new to the game or just need a little refresher, here's the gist of how to play Omaha hi-low (we'll have a separate primer for stud hi-low).
Omaha hi-low is a popular version of Omaha poker game. The basic rules are like in Omaha, which is based on Texas hold'em, but there are some differences which makes the game active and interesting.
In hi-low games, the pot is split between the high hand and the low hand. The same cards may be used in declaring high and low.
One hand may win both the high and the low halves of the pot. A frequent example of this is "the wheel," consisting of an A-2-3-4-5.
If there is no qualifying hand for low, the best high hand wins the whole pot.
In the division of the pot, the high hand receives any odd chip.
Otherwise, all the regular rules of each game apply except that a qualifier of 8-or-better for the low hand applies unless a specific statement to the contrary is made. This means that the winning low hand can only contain cards of the value under nine. Hence in flop games, the flop must contain three non-paired cards of the value of eight or lower.
In order to qualify for the low half of the pot, the low hand must be 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 or lower. That's why this game is called "8 or better," or simply "Omaha 8/O8".
Interesting moment of Omaha hi-low rules is that straights and flushes do not count against you when qualifying for low. Also you are permitted to use different cards in your hand for the high side and different cards for the low side or the same cards for both the high and low sides. In a split pot, any leftover odd chip goes to the high side of the pot.