Omaha High/Low is a game in which four cards are dealt with face down to each player. 2-10 players can play at a time. Community cards are then dealt face down in the middle of the table during each round, to a total of five. This game is identical to Texas hold ’em, but the final hands must include two of the player’s four cards and three of the table’s five community cards.
However, Omaha can be played two ways: high or high low split. When played high-low, the low hand cannot be higher than an 8. When played this way the game is often called Omaha high-low split.
- You must know the rules for splitting the pot, and keep in mind the following points:
- You need a strong high pair in the hole to stay.
- You need a hole ace-2 to stay
- Fold if you don’t have four cards that are 6 or lower
- Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 is the perfect low hand, plus a high straight hand
- Three of a kind in your hand is not a good hand
- Evaluate your hand before the flop and decide whether it’s worth calling or raising
- After the flop, consider the odds of seeing additional good cards
- After the fourth and fifth cards, basic poker skills come into play
In the end, players make their best five-card hand using two cards in their hand and three from the table. When playing Omaha 8, players declare in betting order if they are playing “high,” “low,” or “both.” The player with the highest five-card hand is the winner. When playing Omaha 8, the high and low hands split the pot evenly, but the low hand must be no higher than 8, or else the high hand gets it all. When a player declares “both,” he can use all four of his cards, splitting them into two groups to form a high hand and a low hand.
