Omaha hi-lo
How to play Omaha 8 or Better
Omaha 8 or Better (PLO8 when pot-limit, Limit Omaha 8 when fixed-limit) splits the pot between the best high hand and the best qualifying low. Most of the money is won by scooping both halves — and lost by getting quartered.
Two halves, one qualifier
At showdown the pot is split: half to the best high hand (ordinary poker rankings), half to the best low if a low qualifies. A qualifying low is five unpaired cards of rank 8 or lower, A-2-3-4-5 being the nut low (the wheel, which is also a straight for high). Straights and flushes do not count against a low. Pairs do: you cannot use a pair in a low, so A-2-3-4-4 is not a low.
If no low qualifies, the high hand takes the whole pot. That is why a high-only hand on a paired, high board is a monster, and why the same hand on 2-3-4-6-7 is often a desperate attempt not to get quartered.
Scoops and quarters
A scoop is winning both halves. That is the object of the game. A quarter is winning one half and chopping the other — you get 25% of the pot. If you put in a third of a three-way pot and get quartered, you lost money with 'the nuts'. Beginners treat nut high as a celebration. Regulars treat nut high with a shared nut low as a disaster.
- A-2 double-suited is the canonical starting hand; A-3 and 2-3 need a plan
- Counterfeit: the board pairs your low key card and your low dies
- Backup lows (A-2-3) survive counterfeits that A-2-K do not
- The Labs Omaha hi-lo tool will tell you whether a low qualifies — use it until the reflex is real
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