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Playing Omaha Hi-Lo is the same as playing Omaha High. The only difference is that the winnings are halved between the player with the highest poker hand, and the lowest poker hand. The lowest poker hand must be based on five cards which start at 8 or below.
Omaha Poker comes in a few different variations and all are similar to Texas Hold ‘Em. However, there are two main differences between a game of Texas Hold ‘Em and a game of Omaha. They are as follows;
- In Texas Hold ‘Em you receive two hole cards, but in Omaha each player receives four
- In Texas Hold ‘Em you can use any cards available to you to make a five card poker hand, but in Omaha you must use two of your hole cards in combination with three community cards in order to make your hand.
However, despite these differences you will find that structurally the game is very similar to Texas Hold ‘Em.
To start with the two players left of the dealer place blind bets. The player that is directly to the dealers left puts out the small blind and the player two to the left puts out the big blind. In general, the small blind will be half the size of the big blind.
Once the betting is over, every player is dealt four cards face down known as hole cards or pocket cards.
A round of betting begins, starting with the player to the left of the big blind. He can choose to call the bet , raise it, or fold.
After this round of betting is over, three cards are then dealt face up in the centre of the table. These are known as ‘the flop’ and they are community cards. Anyone can use them to create the best possible five card poker hand when combined with their own hole cards.
A new round of betting now begins starting with the player to the dealers left. Once bets are over a fourth community card is dealt face up. Again, this card is available for all players to use in combination with their own cards. This is called the ‘turn card’.
Another new round of betting now begins, starting again with the player to the left of the dealer who is still in play.
A fifth and final card known as ‘the river’ is then dealt face up onto the table
A final round of betting then begins, after which any remaining players must reveal their cards. In order to make their final five card poker hand, players need to use two of their four hole cards and three of the community cards on the board. The best hand and the lowest hand split the pot. The same player can have both the best high and low hands. However, if none of the players have a low hand, then the highest hand wins the entire pot.
