How do you play Omaha Hi-lo?

Introduction

Omaha hi-lo is a community card game with the same structure as Hold'em - four betting rounds, one preflop, one on the three-card flop, one on the turn, and a final one on the river. See:  How do you play Texas Hold'em? Just as in Hold'em, action starts with two blinds posted by the players closest clockwise from the dealer button. Betting then continues clockwise with each player acting in turn, starting with the player closest clockwise to the big blind preflop, and with the player closest clockwise to the dealer button on all subsequent betting rounds.

Just as in the high-only version of Omaha, each player receives four hole cards, but makes two poker hands - their best high hand and their best low hand - using exactly two cards from their hand and three from the board. Players may use two different two-card combinations to create their high and low hands.

At showdown, the pot is split between the player with the best high hand (see  Hand Rankings) and the player with the best low hand (if a low is possible). It's possible to win both at once - this is known as 'scooping.' Various conditions must be met for any low hands to be viable - if they are not, then the hand plays out high-only at showdown, and the player with the best high hand wins the whole pot.

Low hand rules

A low hand is an unpaired hand containing the lowest combination of cards available. Ace counts as low, with straights and flushes not counting against the low. The best possible low hand is therefore A 2 3 4 5, any suits (known as 'the wheel').

To qualify for a low to be eligible, the highest card in the low hand must be 8 or lower (hence the term '8-or-better' which is often applied to hi-lo games). If a board of community cards ended up being A A 4 K Q for example, there would be no low available. This particular hand would therefore be played high only, with the player with the best high hand taking the pot.

Lows are compared from highest card down, so low hand 7 5 4 3 2 beats 8 5 4 3 2.

Similarly, 7 5 4 3 2 beats 7 6 3 2 A, as, if the highest card is the same (7, in this case), the hand is then compared on second-highest (5 is lower than 6), and so on.

It is possible for two or more players to end up with the same low, in which case the low pot (half the main pot) is split evenly between them. A player can therefore sometimes end up winning all, half or a quarter of the total pot.

Example hand:

Player 1's high hand: flush  (Ah 2h) 3h 5h 8h

Player 2's high hand: three of a kind (Kh Kd) Ks Qs 8h

Player 1's low hand: (Ah 2h) 3h 5h 8h 
(remember straights and flushes don't count against a low)

Player 2's low hand: (As 2c) 3h 5h 8h 
(i.e. both players tie on the low hand)

If the total pot at showdown is $20, the high pot ($10) would go to Player 1, while the low pot ($10) would be split evenly between the tied low hands ($5 to Player 1, $5 to Player 2). Thus Player 1 would win $15, and Player 2 $5.

Fixed Limit and Pot Limit Omaha

see  Fixed Limit and Pot Limit Omaha for details of different betting structures, which are the same for this variant of the game.