Poker Game Fan

Just recently, Poker.co.uk has began offering Omaha hi/lo games, and I found several players on their forum looking for information about how to play the game. If you are one of those players who would like to try their hand at this game but are unsure of the rules, here are a few pointers.

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In hi/lo, four hole cards are dealt in the same way is regular Omaha poker. The aim is to hopefully win both the high half, and the low half of a pot. The low half can be won by any five card upaired hand consisting of cards 8 or lower. The best possible low hand being (A,2,3,4,5). Sometimes the board cards will be such that there is no possible low hand, in this case the high hand will take the entire pot. If you make the same low hand as another player, it is possible to get ‘quartered’ meaning the low half of the pot is split.

High hands made include the same standard hand rankings as usual, and so there really aren’t that many differences between Omaha and the hi/lo version. the only new aspect to learn is the pot splitting and low hands.

Personally I prefer to pick up low drawing cards as it is easier to make the nuts low with a hand containing (A,2,x,x) than it is to make the nut high hand. In this game it is generally accepted that the best starting hand is (A,A,2,3) double suited. This gives strong chances to win the low half of the pot, as well as options for the high half too, If you catch the right suits or make trips, or ideally, a wheel.