In the game of Omaha High Low, there are normally two winners every hand. The player with the best five card hand wins the high hand and half of the pot. The player with the lowest five card hand wins the low hand and the other half of the pot.
If there is no qualifying low hand, the player with the high hand wins the entire pot. For a hand to qualify for a low hand, all five cards must be eight or lower.
This is one of the reasons that Omaha High Low is also known as Omaha 8 Or Better.
In most typical Omaha High Low games, there are two forced bets for each hand called the small blind and big blind. The person to the immediate right of these two players is called the dealer and they are assigned a dealer button to signify their position as dealer. This button rotates one spot to the left after each hand has been dealt. The small blind is the player to the immediate left of the dealer and they must put in ½ a big blind. The big blind is one to the left of the small blind and must put in a full big blind. For example, if you were playing in a $6/$12 Omaha High Low game, the small blind would put in $3 and the big blind $6. The maximum bet or raise amount pre-flop would be $6, and on the turn and river it would double to $12.
Every player at the table is dealt four cards face down, one at a time, starting with the small blind and going clockwise until the dealer has their last card. Betting then takes place with betting moving in the same clockwise direction and starting with the player one to the left of the big blind. This player is also known as the under the gun player (UTG) because they are “under the gun” so to speak by having to act first pre-flop. The under the gun player can either fold, call the amount of the big blind, or raise the big blind by doubling the amount. Action then proceeds in a clockwise direction until all players have made their decisions and all bets have been made. In a typical Omaha 8 game, betting is usually capped at four or five bets. This means there is a limit to the number of raises that can take place on any one street.
Once all the pre-flop decisions have been made, the dealer will turn three cards face up, in the middle of the table. This is also known as the flop and these are community cards that each player can use to make their best five card hand. Betting again ensues and once all decisions have been made, another card is turned face up. This is the turn card. On the turn, the betting limit doubles from what it was pre-flop and on the flop. After all decisions have been made on the turn, one more card is turned face up in the middle. This card is the river card and players now have one more opportunity to bet.
After all bets have been collected by the dealer, the players with the best high and low hands are figured out so that the winners can rake in their portion of the pot. You must use at least two hole cards from the four in your hand to make a winning hand. It is different from Hold Em in that regard as you cannot play the board. If you are dealt K-K-K-K for example, you do not have quad kings. You have a lowly pair of kings and whatever the best three cards on the board are.
The player with the best five card hand is the winner of the high hand. The player who has the best five card combination with all five cards being eight or lower is the winner of the low hand. The high hand wins the entire pot if there is no low hand. It is possible to share a high or low hand with another player if they have the same hand as you. In this case, that half of the pot is split in half again. This is called being quartered. A common example of when this takes place is when two players have A-2-x-x and there are three low cards on the board. Those two players split the low hand and each receive ¼ of the pot, while the player with the high hand would receive ½ the pot.
In order to claim your share of the pot, you must show all four of your cards. If you discard two and only show the other two, your hand is dead and you lose any stake you had in the pot. To determine low hand, put the cards in numerical sequence from highest to lowest. A-2-3-5-7 would read as 7-5-3-2-1 and A-3-4-5-6 would read as 6-5-4-3-1. The lower number is the better low hand. In the above example, A-3-4-5-6 would win because 6-5-4-3-1 is lower than 7-5-3-2-1.
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