Omaha Hi Lo Rules:

Omaha poker hi/lo is very popular in online poker rooms and it's a great poker game to learn how to play. The rules of this poker game are very close to the rules of Omaha and Texas Holdem. Make sure you read through all of the rules below before you begin playing Omaha hi/lo in one of the online poker rooms we recommend. The action is very fierce in Omaha hi/lo because two hands can potentially win half of the pot in this poker game, so expect to play a lot of big pots.

» Omaha Poker Hi/Lo Rules - Before the Deal

Before the cards can even be dealt in Omaha hi/lo the blinds need to be put into the pot. Only two players need to pay blinds each hand, so to ensure everyone pays blinds you need to use a dealer button and move it clockwise at the end of each hand. The player to the immediate left of the button will have to pay the small blind and then the player sitting next to the small blind (Left Side) needs to put in the big blind before the cards can even be dealt out.

» Omaha Hi/Lo Poker Rules - Preflop

After each player has received their four cards the betting action starts with the player sitting next to the big blind (Left). Every player will have the opportunity to act upon their hand by calling the BB, raising the BB or folding if they don't want to put any chips into the pot.

» Omaha Poker Hi/Lo Rules - Flop

Once the 1st preflop betting round is complete in Omaha hi/lo the dealer will flip over the flop. The flop is the 1st three cards dealt that every player in the hand can use to better their hand. When the flop has been flipped over the betting resumes with the action starting this time with the player to the left of the dealer button. During this betting round you can bet, raise or fold, but you can also check if a bet hasn't been made. Checking means you want to stay in the hand, but don't want to bet anything yet.

» Omaha Poker Hi/Lo Rules - Turn

After the flop betting round the dealer will flip over the turn card. The turn is only one card rather than three like on the flop. Once the turn is revealed in Omaha Hi/Lo there is another betting round.

» Omaha Poker Hi/Lo Rules - River

The very last community card in Omaha Hi/Lo is known as the river. Once the dealer reveals the river there is one last round of betting using the same betting format used on the flop and turn.

When you get to the showdown in Omaha hi/lo you need to make sure you follow these rules. If a player has a low hand that consists of 5 cards from Ace - 8 without any pairs then they qualify for the low hand and win half the pot. The player with the highest hand always wins at least half the pot and if a low hand doesn't qualify the high hand takes the entire pot. In Omaha hi/lo players need to use exactly 2 of the cards from their hand and 3 of the community cards when making their hand. There isn't always a low hand that qualifies, so make sure you double check to ensure the low hand qualified by using the rules above.