Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Low is a community card game which plays similarly to games like Texas Holdem and Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) with the notable difference that Pot limit Omaha Hi/Low (sometimes called 8-or-better) is a split pot game, where the player with the best ‘low’ hand wins half of the pot if the hand goes to a showdown. A low hand is any 5 cards 8 or lower (hence the name 8-or-better) and the better low hand is determined by using the highest card first, then the second highest if there is a tie, and so on. If no player can make a low hand, the entire pot is awarded to the player with the best high hand.
How to Play Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Low
In a PLO Hi/Low hand, the action starts with the two players to the left of the dealer putting blind bets into the pot. This serves as the initial pot which players are competing for. The player to the dealer’s left pays the small blind, and the player to his left pays the big blind, which is normally twice the small blind.
Each player is then dealt 4 cards faced down, known as hole cards and the betting action starts with the player to the left of the big blind. He has the option to fold, giving up on the pot, call the amount of the big blind, or raise up to the amount that is currently in the pot (due to the fact that it is a pot limit game). The action continues around the table to the small blind who has the option to complete his bet to the amount of the big blind if there has been no raise, call any raise made before he gets to act, and can also fold or raise himself. Similarly the big blind may ‘check’ his option if there is no raise in front, or raise. He can also call or fold if there has been a raise in front. If there is a raise which no player calls, the raiser wins the pot without having to show down his cards.
When all bets are matched, we move on to the ‘flop’. On this round, the dealer places three cards face up in the middle of the table which each player can use to make their hands. This if followed by a round of betting which begins with the small blind who has the option to check, passing the action along to the next player, or bet. The action continues around the table with all players having the option to bet or call/raise any existing bets, or to check if there has been no action in front of them.
When the flop betting round is complete, we move to the ‘turn’, where the dealer places a single community card face up on the table which again can be used by all players. In determining their hand, players must use a combination of exactly two cards from their hole cards and three cards from the community cards on the table. Note however, that players can use different combinations of hole cards and community cards when making their low and high hands. On the turn there is a round of betting as was the case with the flop.
If there are still players remaining in the pot after the turn betting round, we move to the ‘river’, where the dealer puts a final card face up on the table. Players now have all of the cards available to make both their high and low hands, and the hand concludes with a round of betting. If the last bet on the river is called or if all players check, the hand goes to showdown with the player holding the best poker hand by the standard rankings winning half the pot, and the player with the best low hand where all cards are 8 or lower winning the other half of the pot. In the case where no player holds a qualifying low hand, the player with the best high hand wins the entire pot.
Because players must use three cards from the community cards to make their hand, it is impossible for any player to have a qualifying low hand if there aren’t three cards 8 or lower among the community cards.
