Omaha Hi Lo Vs. Omaha Hi

Omaha is the most widely played online poker game aside from Texas Holdem. Omaha is also played in mixed games but primarily is either played as Hi or Hi/Lo. There are obvious differences between the two indicated directly within their names. The strategy needed and hand selection dramatically changes depending on which format is being played.

Omaha Hi Lo and Omaha Differences

The High Hand: The high hand in Omaha is based on the standard poker hand ranking structure that is used in many online poker games at poker sites. The standard poker hand ranking structure has the highest hand possible being a Royal Flush and the lowest made hand is a pair. If a pair was not hit, high card determines the winner. In Omaha Hi, the strategy is to have the highest hand possible, whereas, Omaha Hi/Lo splits the pot between the high and qualifying low hand. Omaha Hi is very similar to Texas Holdem aside from being dealt four cards instead of two. The other difference is that Omaha requires players to use two of their four hole cards and three of the community cards to make their five-card hand. There is no exception to this rule and the same rule applies to Omaha Hi/Lo.

The Lo Hand: The low hand in Omaha Hi/Lo makes the game a little trickier in terms of strategy. However, the concept of the game is quite simple. The pot in Omaha Hi/Lo is split between the high hand and the qualifying low hand if there is one. A qualifying low hand for Omaha Hi/Lo must contain five cards that are 8 or lower. None of the five cards can be paired. Pairs take away from the low value of the hand. However, the interesting part is straights and flushes, which do not count against the low value of the hand. The "bicycle" hand, A-2-3-4-5, is the best low hand in Omaha Hi/Lo. This is also sometimes referred to as the "wheel."

The bicycle hand is the best low hand but this hand also has a chance at taking the high end of the pot with a 5-high straight. The key differences between Omaha Hi and Omaha Hi/Lo are the hand objective and who is entitled to take down the pot. Omaha Hi has the hand objective of having the highest hand possible, as the highest hand takes down the entire pot. Omaha Hi/Lo has the objective of having a hand that at least secures one end of the pot and hopefully, takes down both ends. In Omaha Hi/Lo, if two players split the high end of the pot, the low end is still entitled to half the pot. In other words, splitting the pot with another player one end only gives you a quarter of the pot.