Belmont's Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better (Omaha Hi/Lo) poker is a community hi-lo card game. In this online card room Omaha Hi/Lo game the pot is split 50-50 between the best High Hand and the best qualifying Low Hand. Omaha Hi/Lo requires a lot of skill and usually takes a little practice to understand the intricacies of the game.
Omaha Hi/Lo is structurally played the same as Omaha Hi except that the highest hand wins 50% of the pot and the lowest qualifying hand wins 50% of the pot.
* Each player receives four face-down cards (pocket
cards) to start.
* At the showdown each player must use exactly two of
their four pocket cards and combine them with exactly
three boardcards.
General Rules & Sequence of Action for Omaha Hi/Lo: The dealer deals each player their own four cards face-down (pocket cards)
First betting round
Dealer turns over three community boardcards (the flop)
face-up
Second betting round
Dealer turns over 1 more community boardcard (the turn)
Third betting round
Dealer turns over 1 final community boardcard (the river)
Final betting round
Showdown
At the showdown players MUST use exactly two of their pocket cards and three boardcards.
A Low hand must be high card "8 or better" to qualify. To be eligible to win the Low, the highest card must be a 5, 6, 7, or 8. The winning Low Hand (8 or better) is determined firstly by the player with the lowest High card. Upon a tie with the High card, the hand goes to the player with the next lowest High card. Any hand that is high card 9 or higher can NOT qualify as a Low Hand.
If there is no qualifying Low Hand then the high hand
wins 100% of the pot.
At the showdown each player can use any two of their
pocket cards for their high hand and any two of their
pocket cards for their low.
* The best low hand is A, 2, 3, 4, 5. This will also
count as a straight for high. Aces can be used for both
high and low.
* Straights and flushes are not considered when evaluating
a low hand.
* A player can "scoop" the entire pot with
both the high and low by showing the highest and lowest
hands.
Players can use any two of their pocket cards with any three board cards for their high hand, and players can also use any two of their pocket cards with any three board cards for their low hand. It is possible to win both high hand and low hand.
Omaha Hi/Lo Poker Betting Structure: As you can see from the description of action above, there are four betting rounds in a complete game of Omaha Hi/Lo.
Each bet and raise during the first two rounds is set at the lower limit of the stakes structure. For example in a $5/$10 Texas Hold'em game, all bets and raises are $5 for the first two rounds (after pocket cards are dealt and after the flop).
Betting and raising during the last two rounds is set at the higher limit of the stakes structure. Same Texas Hold'em example; all bets and raises are $10 for the last two rounds (after the turn and after the river), following accepted poker rules.
The maximum allowable number of bets per Belmont.com player during any betting round in Omaha Hi/Lo poker is four. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise, and (4) cap. The term cap is used to describe the 3rd raise in a round since betting is then capped and can't be raised further. Once capped, players will have only the option of calling or folding. Belmont.com follows common poker rules in this regard.
Note: There is no cap to the number of raises in No Limit and Pot Limit games. Check-raising is allowed in all Belmont.com poker games.
Button & Blinds: Omaha uses a flat disk called the dealer-button (or simply "the button") to indicate the theoretical dealer of each hand.
After each hand has been completed, the button moves clockwise to the next active player and this player will be considered to be the button for that game. The player to the left of the button is first to receive a card and is required to post a small blind. The small blind is equal to half the lower limit bet rounded up to the nearest dollar. The player to the left of the small blind is required to post the big blind. The big blind is equal to the lower limit bet.
Both the small and the big blinds are considered live bets and therefore have the option of checking, calling, raising or folding when the betting action comes back around to their position. After the flop and after each subsequent betting round, the first active player left of the button is first to act.
When a player first sits down at an active table, they will be required to post the equivalent of the big blind. All players have the option of sitting out and waiting to become the actual big blind before starting to play. This rule is in place to ensure fairness to all players. The rule stops potential abuses to the system by preventing players who may otherwise constantly enter games in late position and then leave before they are required to post a big blind.
