Omaha Hi/Low poker learn to play full tilt poker 100% deposit bonus offer

Omaha Hi/Lo is a variant of Omaha. The betting, blinds, and postings are exactly the
same as in Omaha.

At the showdown, the pot is split between the holder of the highest hand, and the
holder of the lowest hand, if the low hand qualifies.

To qualify for a low hand, you must have five distinct cards (no pairs), with no card
higher than an 8. Remember, since you have to play two cards in your hand, the two
cards in your hand and three on the board all need to be 8 or lower. Straights and
flushes do not count against you. The best 5-card low hand is A-2-3-4-5 of any suit.
The hand is "ranked" by starting with the highest low card. 7-4-3-2-1 would be
considered a 7-low, and would lose to 6-4-3-2-1, a 6-low. If two players each have
low hands with the same highest card, the next highest card determines the winner.
7-5-4-3-2 loses to 7-4-3-2-1. If there is no qualifying low hand, the high hand wins
the entire pot.

Just as in the high version of Omaha, each player starts with four hole cards, and
then the dealer places five cards face-up in the center of the table. These community
cards are part of each player's hand, so each player has access to seven cards. The
difference between Omaha high and Omaha Hi/Lo, is that in Omaha Hi/Lo each
player can potentially have two different hands: a high hand and a low hand.

Each player forms a five-card high hand by using only two (no more, no less, but
they can be any two) of his hole cards together with only three (no more, no less, but
they can be any three) of the five community cards. Each player forms a five-card low
hand (if possible) by using only two (no more, no less, but they can be any two) of his
hole cards together with only three (no more, no less, but they can be any three) of
the five community cards. Both the high hand combination and the low hand
combination can use the same set of cards, but they don't have to; in fact, usually
they would not.

Because of the qualifier restriction, if at least three cards 8 or lower do not appear
among the community cards, a low hand is not possible.

Omaha high-low is a variant of Omaha in which the pot is split between the holder of
the highest hand and the holder of the lowest hand if that low hand is topped by no
worse than an 8. (The 8 is known in the poker world as a qualifier.) If that restriction
is not met, the entire pot goes to the holder of the highest hand. Also, the same hand
can win both the high and the low half of the pot. Winning the whole pot in either of
these ways is called scooping. See "Hand Rankings" to see how low hands are
determined and what beats what.

The game is also called Omaha 8-or-better, Omaha split, or Omaha/8 (and indicated
on the lobby tab as Omaha H/L).

Whether online or in a brick-and mortar cardroom (b&m), Omaha high-low plays the
same. As in most forms of poker, Omaha high-low uses a standard 52-card deck.
Omaha high-low is usually played 9- or 10-handed online.

Blinds
Each hand of Omaha high-low starts with two blinds. Blinds are preliminary bets
made by two players before cards are dealt for the purpose of stimulating action. If
there was nothing to win, the first player to make a decision would have no reason to
make a bet. The deal position is indicated by a white disk, labeled D, called the
dealer button, or, simply, the button. This is the position from which the dealer would
distribute cards if the dealer were one of the players. Prior to cards being distributed,
the player to the left of the button puts in chips equal to (usually) half the size of the
minimum bet for the game. The player to that player's left puts in chips equal to the
minimum bet for the game.

For example, in a $2/$4 limit game, the small blind would be $1 and the big blind $2.

Sitting Down
When you first sit down at a table, you must wait for the big blind to arrive at your
position. This happens naturally, because the button moves one position to the left
(clockwise) after each hand. Alternatively, to get dealt in immediately, you can post, that
is, put in a blind the same size as the big blind. If you post, you get dealt in right away
and on succeeding hands.

Each player must put both a small blind and a big blind into the pot once each per
round. If you ever miss the blinds in a round, you must either wait for the big blind to get
to you, or post both missed blinds. This you do at one time. An amount equal to the size
of the big blind is part of your bet. (It plays for you.) An amount equal to the size of the
small blind becomes part of the pot and is not part of your bet. For example, in a $2/$4
limit game, if you miss the blinds and do not wait for the big blind to get to you to get
back into play, you would put $3 into the pot, of which $2 would be considered part of
your bet when it is your turn to act on the first round, and $1 would belong to the pot-to
be won by the eventual winner of the pot.

First Round
When the blinds are in place, the dealer distributes four cards one at a time face down
to each player, starting with the little blind. These four starting cards are called hole
cards. Your hole cards appear face up on screen, but don't worry; only you can see
your hole cards. Only the backs of every other player's hole cards appear on screen.
Every other player has a similar view, with only his own hole cards visible.

Each player starts with four hole cards instead of two (In fact, some b&ms offer variants
with five or even six hole cards, but you won't find those variants online.) Then the
dealer places five cards face-up in the center of the table. These community cards are
part of each player's hand, so each player has access to nine cards. In Omaha
high-low, each player can potentially form two five-card hands, a high hand and a low
hand. Each hand must adhere to the Omaha restrictions of using only two (no more, no
less, but they can be any two) of the hole cards together with only three (no more, no
less, but they can be any three) of the five community cards. A different
two-card-plus-three-card combination can be use for the low hand and for the high
hand. Given that, many more winning combinations are possible in Omaha high-low
than in Omaha high. Accordingly, Omaha high-low hands often have more players and
the pots are correspondingly larger.

Even if you haven't had experience with Omaha high-low, you don't have to worry which
are the best cards; the software automatically chooses the best five for you when it
comes time to compare hands. If you can make both a high hand and a low hand-and
this is often the case-the software automatically chooses the best five cards for your
high hand and the best five cards for your low hand.

For example, your hole cards are Ad Kd 3s 2s. The board is Jd 4d 3c Qd 5h. Your best
high hand would be an ace-high flush. You make this hand by using Ad Kd from your
hand in combination with Jd 4d Qd on the board. Your best low hand would be a wheel.
You make this hand by using Ad 2s from your hand in combination with 4d 3c 5h on the
board. Both hands are the nuts (the best possible hand for a given situation). Having
the best possible low and the best possible high in the same hand is called nut-nut.
(You could possibly split the low half of the pot if anyone else has both an ace and a 2.
In the case of one other player with that combination, you would get three-fourths of the
pot.) This example shows two different sets of five cards being used to form high hand
and low hand, while adhering to the Omaha restrictions. You can see more about
combinations and what beats what in Hand Rankings.

Omaha high-low, as any form of poker, is about betting. Omaha high-low has four
betting rounds. The sizes of the bets depend on the structure of the game, of which
Omaha high-low has three possibilities:

limit game
pot-limit game
no-limit game
The betting on the first round always starts with the player just to the left of the big
blind. This position is sometimes called under the gun. In the picture below you are
under the gun. As the first player, you have three choices. You can:

fold
open for the minimum (limp)
open for a raise
You choose your action by clicking in a dialog box. If you fold at any point, your cards
are removed from play and no longer appear on the screen, you are out until the next
hand, and you have no further interest in the pot. If you fold, the next player has the
same choices. If everyone folds, including the small blind, the pot goes to the big blind,
and the next hand is dealt.

If you or anyone else opens, each succeeding player has three choices:

fold
call, that is, match the preceding bet
raise, that is, increase the preceding bet
Each player in turn has the same three choices. If there has been a raise, each player
who chooses to continue must either call the total bet thus far or himself raise. In any
one round of betting, there can be a maximum of one bet plus three raises. When the
betting (also called action) gets to the blinds, they have the same choices. However,
they already have chips in the pot, and those chips count towards their bet. For
example, if, in a $2/$4 limit game, you had opened for $2, and two players had raised,
the total bet would be $6. When it was the turn of the small blind, that player could fold.
The player could call, by putting $5 into the pot. (He already has $1 in.) Or that player
could raise, by putting $7 into the pot. This would cap the betting for that round, that is,
cause it to reach the maximum. (Pot limit and no limit games have no cap on the
number of bets that can be made.)

Similarly, the big blind, who already has $2 invested in the pot, gets in for $2 less. If
there have been no raises when the bets gets to the big blind, that player has what is
called the option. He can opt to raise, in which case each active player in turn is offered
a choice of calling the raise or reraising-or folding. The big blind can also choose not to
raise, which stops the betting for that round. The big blind in this option situation is
known in poker parlance as a live blind.

Evaluating Your Cards
As you evaluate your cards, realize that since this is a high-low split game, good cards
can be low cards as well as high cards. You want to end up with a hand that is best for
either high or low-and, ideally, one that can win both high and low (scoop the pot).
Keep in mind the qualifier. To end up with a low hand, your starting hand must contain
at least two cards 8 or lower. Compared with seven stud high-low, Omaha high-low has
a smaller proportion of pots split between high and low on the showdown. In seven stud
high-low, since a player can use any five of his seven cards, the likelihood of a low
hand is often quite high. An Omaha high-low pot, however, can have a low only if at
least three of the community cards are 8 or lower-and even then, it sometimes happens
that no player can make a low.

The Flop
Once the betting for the first round is equalized, that is, once everyone has had an
opportunity either to fold or match the total betting, the dealer deals three cards face
up in the center of the table. These first three of the community cards are called the
flop.

The second round of betting takes place. In this round, the betting starts with the first
active player (one who still has cards) to the left of the button. If the small blind called
on the first round, that player would be first to act, even though he was next-to-last on
the first round of betting. Only in the first round (sometimes called the preflop round)
does the betting start elsewhere. In all rounds after the first, the first player has two
choices:

check, that is, make no bet
bet, that is, make a bet at the proper limit for that round
If no one bets, each player in turn has the same choices. It is possible in every round
except the first for no betting to occur. No betting in a round is called being checked
around.

If anyone bets, each succeeding player has three choices:

fold
call, that is, match the preceding bet
raise, that is, increase the preceding bet
A player who checks retains his cards. If someone bets, when the action returns, a
player who checked has the preceding three choices. To check and then raise when
the betting returns is known, reasonably enough, as check-raising. If you check with the
intention of raising, you of course risk the possibility that no one will bet.

The Turn
Once the betting for the second round is equalized, that is, once everyone has had an
opportunity either to check or match the total betting for the round, the dealer deals
one more card face up in the center of the table. This fourth of the community cards is
called the turn.

The third round of betting takes place. Again, the betting starts with the first active
player to the left of the button. The betting proceeds exactly the same as the second
round. In a limit game, in the third round and fourth rounds the betting usually proceeds
in increments twice the size of the first two rounds.

The River
Once the betting for the third round is equalized, the dealer deals a fifth and final card
face up in the center of the table. This last community card is called the river.

The fourth and final round of betting takes place. Again, the betting starts with the first
active player to the left of the button. The betting proceeds exactly the same as the two
previous rounds.

Showdown
Once the betting for the fourth round is equalized, the betting is over, and there is a
showdown. Remaining active players show their cards. The best high hand, comprised
of the best five cards from among two of each player's four hole cards in combination
with three of the community cards, wins half the pot. The best low hand (as long as one
qualifies by consisting of five different cards 8 or lower), comprised of the best five
cards from among two of each player's four hole cards in combination with three of the
community cards, wins half the pot. The software determines the winning hands, and
awards half the pot to the holder of each hand. If no hand qualifies for low, the software
awards the entire pot to the holder of the highest hand. If the same player has a
combinations of cards that qualify as both the best high hand and the best low hand,
the software awards the entire pot to the holder of that hand.

Players do not show their cards simultaneously. The showdown takes place in a
specified order.

The software shows the cards of the first player to have bet or the last player to have
raised in any previous round. (If there was no betting on the river, the cards of the first
player to have bet or the last player to have raised on the turn would be shown first on
the showdown-and so on.) If the next active player has a better high or low hand than
the one just shown (or ties), the software shows his cards. If the next active player does
not have either, the software offers that player a choice. He can show his cards, if he
wishes, or he can just get rid of the cards (muck). The software treats each remaining
active player in turn the same-either turning over the hand if it is better for high or low
than (or tied with) any shown thus far or offering the choice of showing or mucking-and
awards each half of the pot appropriately.

Don't worry about inadvertently misreading your hand and accidentally throwing away a
winner. As long as you have called to the end, the software awards the pot to the
winning hand-and reports in the chat box the value of that hand. You may, for example,
have been concentrating so hard on making a low that you don't see that, while you
missed the low, you had a straight-and it was the best high hand. The software makes
sure that if your hand is the best for high or low at the showdown you win.

If the betting is not equalized on the final round, that is, one player bet or raised and no
one called, there is no showdown, and the software awards the pot to the player who
made that uncalled bet. This is the case on any previous round, as well. If it happens
on earlier rounds, no further cards are dealt, because the hand is over.

Sometimes a player runs out of chips before all the betting is over. In such case, one or
more side pots are created, and the software awards appropriate main and side pots.
When a player is all in, a bet or raise can be made that is not called, but a showdown
still takes place.

Players often do not show losing hands. You are entitled, however, to see any cards
that were active at the showdown even if they were not shown. Click on LAST HAND to
bring up a new window that shows the results of the last hand and all the active cards.
You can also specify in that window any previous hand (up to the last 50 in your current
session) on which to get a report.