Poker is a zero-sum game, meaning for every winner there has to be a loser. However, that’s not to say there can’t be more than one winner, which is especially true in split pot poker variations and situations. To split a pot is simply to divide the chips among the winners. This is a discussion on Split Pot Rule; many all-in within the online poker forums, in the Learning Poker section; Hi, Every body,This is my first posting in this forum (just starting to learn). This split pot game is a favourite amongst Vegas old timers, and is still commonly played online today. Omaha Hi-Lo Split is a variant of Omaha poker. See the article on “ Omaha Rules ” for more information.
It is only possible (but improbable) for a royal flush to come in any other game but 7 stud and 5 draw. It is IMPOSSIBLE in Texas Hold'em and Omaha. Now, if it WERE to happen, one of two things would occur, and it depends on the house rules. The most common thing to happen would be a split pot. In high-low games, the easiest split pot is when one player wins the high and the other wins the low. Here, you simply divide by two and each player collects their winnings. A player with the best high and the best low hand 'scoops' the whole thing.
All poker played on our website (except for Badugi) is considered a 'five-card' game, in that a poker hand is the best five cards you can put together. In Hold'em, for example, you must make your best five-card hand using any combination of community cards (displayed on the board or table) and hole cards (the cards you actually are holding). In Badugi, players make the best four-card hand.
Some hands (like three of a kind) still need five cards to qualify as a complete hand. To fill out the hand, the best remaining unpaired cards are played as 'kickers', in which higher ranking kickers beat lower ranking kickers. If both players play the exact same five-card hand, the hand is a tie and the pot is split.
Here are a couple of examples that should illustrate the concept more clearly:
- You: J7
- Him: J6
- Board: J552A
- Your Hand: JJ55A
- His Hand: JJ55A
You each play the jack in your hand and the J55A from the board, which results in you both having two pair, jacks and fives. You each are playing only one hole card (the jack), and four board cards. You each have an ace kicker from the board, and this results in a split pot. Your 7 does not come into play at all, as it cannot help improve your best FIVE-CARD hand (it would be a sixth card).
If, however we had:
- You: J7
- Him: J6
- Board: J5524
- Your Hand: JJ557
- His Hand: JJ556
Here, you each would play your hole card kickers, because they are better than the 4 on the river. Now the 4 on the river does not actually factor into play, and your two pair 'outkicks' your opponent's two pair by virtue of your better card (kicker).
Whether the pot is split or won outright comes down to whether your hole card actually plays; whether it is better than any other card on the board that could make a better hand than your kicker.
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Table Of Contents
What is Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker?
If you know how to play pot-limit Omaha (or 'Omaha high'), you are well on your way to learning how to play Omaha hi-lo.
As the name suggests, Omaha hi-lo is a 'split-pot' version of Omaha poker in which players compete for both the 'high' and 'low' halves of the pot. Omaha hi-lo is usually played with fixed-limit betting and often turns up in 'mixed game' formats like H.O.R.S.E. (in which Omaha hi-lo is the 'O') or the popular 8-game mix.
You will sometimes see the game referred to simply as 'Omaha 8' or even 'O/8' or more elaborately as 'Omaha hi-lo split-pot-8-or-better.' The name gets styled differently, too, as 'Omaha High-Low,' 'Omaha poker high-low' and so on.
Pot-limit and no-limit versions of Omaha hi-lo are also popular, especially online either as cash games or tournaments.
How to Play Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker
The basic rules for Omaha hi-lo are very similar to pot-limit Omaha. See 'How to Play Omaha Poker' for an overview of how to play Omaha poker, which is itself a variation on regular Texas hold'em.
Just like in pot-limit Omaha, players are dealt four cards in Omaha hi-lo and are required to use two of those four cards in combination with three community cards in order to make a five-card poker hand.
As in hold'em or pot-limit Omaha, if a player bets and everyone folds before the showdown, the player wins the pot without having to show a hand. However, if the final bet is called and there is a showdown, hands are examined to see who has the best 'high' hand and who has the best 'low' hand, with each winning one-half of the pot.
Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Rules
In Omaha hi-lo, the 'high' hand is determined exactly the same way as in hold'em or Omaha 'high' games (like PLO), following traditional hand rankings.
The 'low' hand requires a little more explanation, especially if you are new to split-pot games or hi-lo poker.
First of all, whatever cards you use to make your high hand, that makes no difference when making your low hand. You can use the same two cards, the other two cards, or any combination just as long as you use two cards from your four-card hand plus three of the community cards to build your five-card poker hand.
The rules of Omaha hi-lo is usually played with a 'qualifier' for the low hand, meaning all of the cards making up a low hand have to be ranked eight or lower. That's where the 'split-8-or-better' comes from, a phrase usually added to the name of the game.
A qualifying low hand consists of five unpaired cards ranked eight or lower. For the low hand, the ace is considered a low card (the lowest), while it can also serve as the highest-ranking card in high hands.
Also worth noting — if your lowest five cards make a straight or a flush, that doesn't matter in Omaha hi-lo, you've still got a low hand (if all are ranked eight or lower). In other 'lowball' games like 2-7 no-limit triple draw, flushes and straights hurt you by making your low hand higher, but in Omaha hi-lo that is not the case.
That means a hand consisting of 5-4-3-2-A would be the lowest possible hand — that is to say, the best 'low hand' in Omaha hi-lo. This hand is sometimes called a 'wheel.' The next lowest possible hand is 6-4-3-2-A. The worst low hand that qualifies as a low in Omaha hi-lo would be 8-7-6-5-4.
A good way to figure out which low hand is best is to arrange the hand from highest card to lowest card and then to think of the hand as a five-digit number, with the lowest number being the best (or lowest) hand. Thus 5-4-3-2-A (54321) is better than 6-4-3-2-A (64321), and 6-4-3-2-A is better than 6-5-3-2-A (65321) and so on.
An Example of an Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker Hand
Let's say a hand of Omaha hi-lo goes to showdown with the final board reading 6♣3♠K♦Q♦.
You hold A♣K♠7♦4♣, and your opponent has Q♠J♦4♦2♠.
Your best possible high hand is two pair, aces and kings — using the A♣ and K♠ in your hand pairing them with the ace and king on board, with the queen being a kicker.
Your best possible low hand is 7-6-4-3-A — using the 7♦ and 4♣ in your hand along with the three low cards on the board. Note how you can't use the ace in your hand when making your low hand, since you have to use exactly two cards in your hand and three on the board (and there is an ace on the board).
Your opponent, meanwhile, has you beat both for the high and the low!
Your opponent's best possible high hand is a flush — using the two diamonds in his hand (J♦ and 4♦) and the three diamonds on the board.
Your opponent's best possible low hand is 6-4-3-2-A — using the 4♦ and the 2♠ in his hand along with the three low cards on the board. 64321 is lower than 76431, so your opponent has you beat.
Winning both halves of the pot like this is called a 'scoop' or 'scooping,' which is something you always want to try to do when playing split-pot or hi-lo poker games.
Sometimes in Omaha hi-lo there is no qualifying low hand. This is the case whenever there are less than three unpaired cards ranked eight or lower on the board.
Poker Rules Split Pot Flush Valve
For example, if the board is 9♣K♦A♥4♥J♠, there are only two cards ranked eight or lower on the board (the ace and four), which means it is impossible for anyone to make a low hand. When that happens, whoever has the best high hand scoops the whole pot.
Conclusion
Omaha hi-lo is not difficult to learn, especially if you already know how to play pot-limit Omaha. The strategy can be complicated, though, with a great deal of importance placed on understanding what are strong starting hands (e.g., hands containing an ace with at least one or two low cards, especially a deuce) and not making the mistake of battling for only half of the pot (just the high or low).
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