What Is Omaha Hi-Lo?
Omaha Hi-Lo — also called Omaha 8-or-Better — is a split-pot poker game. After each hand, the pot is divided equally between two winners: the player with the best HIGH hand and the player with the best qualifying LOW hand. If no qualifying low hand exists, the high hand wins the entire pot. A player can scoop — win both halves — by having both the best high and the best low hand. This possibility of scooping makes every hand strategically rich.
What You Need
- One standard deck of 52 playing cards
- Two to ten players
- Poker chips
The Low Hand — How It Works
A qualifying low hand must contain five unique unpaired cards all ranked 8 or below. Aces always count as low for low-hand purposes. Straights and flushes do not count against a low hand — they are ignored.
The best possible low hand is Ace-2-3-4-5. The worst qualifying low hand is 4-5-6-7-8.
Low hands are compared starting from the highest card downward — lower is better. Ace-2-3-4-6 beats Ace-2-3-4-7 because 6 is lower than 7.
The Critical Rule — Two and Three
Just like regular Omaha, you MUST use exactly 2 of your 4 hole cards and exactly 3 of the 5 community cards to make each hand. You may use different combinations of hole cards for your high and low hands.
Setting Up the Game
- Post blinds as in Hold’em.
- Deal four cards face-down to each player.
How to Play
Identical to regular Omaha Hi: Pre-Flop betting, Flop (3 community cards + betting), Turn (4th community card + betting), River (5th community card + betting), Showdown.
Showdown — Splitting the Pot
At showdown, each player may use different two-card combinations from their hole cards for their high and low hands:
- Declare your best five-card HIGH hand (exactly 2 hole cards + 3 board cards)
- Declare your best five-card LOW hand (exactly 2 hole cards + 3 board cards — can be different cards than used for high)
High half goes to the best high hand. Low half goes to the best qualifying low hand. If no player has a qualifying low (five unpaired cards 8 or below using exactly 2 hole cards + 3 board cards with three low board cards), the high hand wins the entire pot.
Winning
Win the high half, the low half, or scoop both. Track cumulative chips over the session.
Tips for New Players
- Hands that can scoop are the most valuable — look for starting hands like Ace-2-suited with two other connected cards. You have low potential plus nut-flush and straight possibilities.
- Three low board cards (8 or below) must appear on the board for any low to qualify. Check this before chasing a low hand.
- Being quartered is painful — if two players tie for the low half, each gets only a quarter of the total pot. Make sure your low hand is the NUT low, not just any low.