Omaha high low can be a very confusing game to the first time player. It combines two confusing concepts for new poker players. The first being the idea of playing Omaha as opposed to Texas Hold'em, and the second being the idea of a "low" hand.

 

Before you continue, if you are unfamiliar with the rules and gameplay of Omaha poker, click here.

 

In Omaha, players are dealt four cards, and then must make their best hand out of the five community cards dealt in the middle. In Omaha however, there is a twist, players may only use two of their four hole cards, and only three of the five community cards. This creates many interesting challenges for people who are use to playing Texas Hold'em. In addition, one venturing to learn Omaha high low, is dealt the inevitable confusion of how to play a low hand!

 

Fear not, we have written this wonderful guide to help making your first foray into Omaha high low easier!

 

 

As hard is it is to imagine, with a low hand you are trying to make the absolute lowest ranking five cards. There are a few basic rules to low hands:

The wheel is the best hand you can get when forming your low. The wheel is basically a straight from Ace to five, but when using this hand as your low component, it is the mere low ranking of the five cards that makes it so powerful. The great thing about the wheel is that you certainly can use it as an Ace to five straight when playing it for your high hand!

 

Remember, in Omaha High Low, you are combining your four hole cards with the five community cards to make your best low hand, and your best high hand. The best high hand takes half of the pot, and the best low hand takes half of the pot. Conventional Omaha rules apply in that you may only use two cards from your hand and three cards from the board to make either your low or high hand. You may however use two different cards from your hand, and three different cards from the board for each the high and low hands.

 

Here are a few examples:

 

 

There is no reason to know every single possible low hand and the order of their rank. What is important is to know when given a particular board in Omaha high low, or when comparing multiple low hands, how to rank them from there. Basically, the players whose hand has the lowest ranking high card after accounting for ties, is the winner.

 

Lets compare some low hands and see which is best:

 

 

Hand A: 7653A

Hand B: 7652A

 

The lowest hand above is 7652A. Lets dissect this hand using our method of "lowest ranking high card". The top three ranking cards in each of these hands is the same, so we have to go to the next lowest ranking card in each hand to decide the winner. The next lowest card in Hand A is a three, while the next lowest card in Hand B is a two. The two is the lowest ranking high card that is not tied. But why am I calling the two in this particular hand the lowest ranking high card? Specifically why am I calling it a high card? The answer is because it is the highest ranking card in this particular hand still up for consideration. We have ruled out the 765 as having any significance on the hand, so we go to the three in Hand A and the two in Hand B. These two cards are the highest ranking cards in the hand that are still being considered for having the lowest rank, since two is lower than three, Hand B wins.

 

 

Hand A: 87532

Hand B: 8762A

 

Hand A is the clear winner in this situation. After accounting for the eight and seven in each hand, we go to the next lowest card in each hand and compare their rank to find the winner. The five in hand A is of lower rank than the six in Hand B.

 

 

Hand A: 7543A

Hand B: 65432

 

This is another real simple one. The high card for Hand A is seven, and the high card for Hand B is a six. Using our method of the "lowest ranking high card" we clearly see that the six in Hand B is the lowest ranking high card, and it will take the low pot.

 

 

Player A: AA23

Player B: A456

Player C: J865

 

Board: 4728K

 

Player A's low hand: 7432A

Player B's low hand: 7542A

Player C's low hand: 76542

In the above example, player A would win the low half of the pot. The four in their hand is the lowest ranking high card of all three hands. Another way to help with low hands is to look at it like this. In our example, player A has a "7-4" low, while player B has a "7-5" low, and player C has a "7-6" low. The "7-4" is the lowest of all three so it is the winner. This is just another trick to help you decipher low hands.

 

 

Player A: 2365

Player B: JJ25

Player C: AJ73

 

Board: 25A78

 

Player A's low hand: 6532A

Player B's low hand: 8752A

Player C's low hand: 7532A

In this hand, player A is again the winner of the low pot, the "6-5" low is better hand than Player C's "7-5" low. The six in player A's hand is the lowest ranking high card among the two contesting hands. Player B is not able to make a low hand because they only hold two cards below eight in their hand, and the board also holds a two, making a hand with five unpaired cards under eight not possible.

 

With enough experience, you will begin to see low hands easily and recognize what hand is the winner in a showdown. The next step in Omaha high low is learning the strategies and tactics necessary to be a winning player. Now that you know how to decipher and read low hands, you are of to a great start, but the low concept brings a whole new beast to the game of poker. Read our Beginners strategy guide to Omaha High Low for everything you need to know!