Omaha Hi/Lo is played the same way as Omaha High with one exception, the player with the lowest hand will win half the pot if his highest card is 8 or below. It is possible to win the high and low pot with the same hand. The straights and flushes do not count on the low hand but they do for the high hand. If a player has 3-4-10-K and the community cards are A25JQ, then the player will have the highest possible hand, also know as the nuts with an ace high straight and the lowest possible hand A2345, if there are no flushes or ties the player would win both pots.
How is Omaha Hi/Lo Played?
At the start of the hand, players post a small blind and a big blind before any cards are dealt. The blinds work the same in Omaha as they do in Texas Holdem. The blinds and dealer button rotate around the table, so that players take turns being the small blind and big blind.
Step 1 - Each player is dealt four cards (Hole Cards).
Step 2 - A chance to bet.
Step 3 - Three community cards are dealt face up on the table (The Flop).
Step 4 - A chance to bet.
Step 5 - One more community card is dealt face up on the table (The Turn).
Step 6 - A chance to bet.
Step 7 - The final community card is dealt face up on the table (The River).
Step 8 - A last chance to bet.
The player with the highest hand wins half the pot and the player with the lowest hand win half the pot if the highest card of their best 5 card hand is an 8 or below. There are many ties in Omaha Hi/Lo and alot of pots get Quartered, when two players tie with the same hand they will split the respective pot.
If two players have A2345 as thier low hand and another player has a flush for the highest hand the he will win 50% of the pot and the two players with the low hands will win 25% of the pot each. It is possible to lose money when you have the best possible low hand due to the pot getting quartered, In the above scenerio, lets say these three players are the only three at the table and the pot is $100. Each player contributed $33.33 but since the pot got quartered the two players with the A2345 will only win $25 from the pot cause a loss of $8.33 even though they had the best possible low hand. Read more about strategy when facing a possible quartering in Omaha Hi/Lo.
