HEY HO! IT'S OMAHA HI/LO
In Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or better (Omaha Hi/Lo) the pot is split
50-50 between the best High Hand and the best qualifying
Low Hand. Omaha Hi/Lo requires a lot of skill and usually
takes a little practice to understand the intricacies of
the game.
Omaha Hi/Lo is structurally played the same as Omaha High
except that the highest hand wins 50% of the pot and the
lowest qualifying hand wins 50% of the pot.
A Low hand must be high card "8 or better" to
qualify. To be eligible to win the Low, the highest card
must be a 5, 6, 7, or 8.
The winning Low Hand (8 or better) is determined first
off by the player with the lowest High card. Upon a tie
with the High card, the hand goes to the player with the
next lowest High card. Any hand that is high card 9 or
higher can NOT qualify as a Low Hand.
If there is no qualifying Low Hand then the high hand
wins 100% of the pot.
• Each player receives four face-down cards
(pocket cards) to start.
• At the showdown each player must use
exactly two of their four pocket cards and combine them
with exactly three boardcards.
• At the showdown each player can use
any two of their pocket cards for their high hand and any
two of their pocket cards for their low.
• The best low hand is A, 2, 3, 4, 5.
This will also count as a straight for high. Aces can be
used for both high and low.
• Straights and flushes are not considered
when evaluating a low hand.
• A player can "scoop" the
entire pot with both the high and low by showing the highest
and lowest hands.
LET'S PLAY OMAHA HI/LO!
- Each Player is dealt fourCards
face down (Pocket Cards)
- 1st Betting Round begins
- Dealer turns over three Community Board Cards (the
Flop) face-up
- 2nd Betting Round begins
- Dealer turns over one more Community Board Card (the
Turn)
- 3rd Betting Round begins
- Dealer turns over one final Community Board Card (the
River)
- Final Betting Round begins
- Players show their Hands. (the Showdown)
At the showdown players MUST use exactly two of
their pocket cards and three boardcards.
Players can use any two of their pocket cards with any
three board cards for their high hand, and players can
also use any two of their pocket cards with any three board
cards for their low hand. It is possible to win both high
hand and low hand!
OMAHA POKER BETTING STRUCTURE RULES
As you can see from the description of action above, there
are four betting rounds in a complete game of Omaha.
Each bet and raise during the first two rounds is set
at the lower limit of the stakes structure. For example
in a $5/$10 texas holdem game, all bets and raises are
$5 for the first two rounds (after pocket cards are dealt
and after the flop).
Betting and raising during the last two rounds is set
at the higher limit of the stakes structure. Same texas
holdem example; all bets and raises are $10 for the last
two rounds (after the turn and after the river), following
accepted poker rules.
The maximum allowable number of bets per Redlightpoker.com
player during any betting round in texas holdem poker is
four. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise,
and (4) cap. The term cap is used to describe the 3rd raise
in a round since betting is then capped and can't be raised
further. Once capped, players will have only the option
of calling or folding. Redlightpoker.com follows common
poker rules in this regard. Note that there is
no cap to the number of raises in No
Limit and Pot
Limit games.
Check-raising is allowed in all Redlightpoker.com poker
games, with these rules including texas holdem.
BUTTON & BLINDS
Omaha games use a flat disk, as seen above, called the
dealer-button (or simply "the button")
to indicate the theoretical dealer of each hand.
After each hand has been completed, the button moves clockwise
to the next active player and this player will be considered
to be the button for that game. The player to the left
of the button is first to receive a card and is required
to post a small blind. The small blind is equal
to half the lower limit bet rounded up to the nearest dollar.
The player to the left of the small blind is required to
post the big blind. The big blind is equal to
the lower limit bet.
Both the small and the big blinds are considered live
bets and therefore have the option of checking,
calling, raising or folding when the betting action comes
back around to their position. After the flop and after
each subsequent betting round, the first active player
left of the button is first to act.
When a player first sits down at an active table, they
will be required to post the equivalent of the big blind.
All players have the option of sitting out and waiting
to become the actual big blind before starting to play.
This rule is in place to ensure fairness to all players.
The rule stops potential abuses to the system by preventing
players who may otherwise constantly enter games in late
position and then leave before they are required to post
a big blind.