Gambling terms, explained straight

Poker

Omaha hi-lo hand rankings

The low-hand rankings used in Omaha high-low games, where a qualifying low must have five unpaired cards ranked 8 or lower, with aces low and straights and flushes ignored.

Qualifier
A low hand must have no card higher than 8 to qualify in Omaha Hi-Lo/8.12
Best low
A-2-3-4-5 (the 'wheel').12
Worst qualifying low
8-7-6-5-4.12

Key points

  • Each player uses exactly two hole cards and three board cards to make both a high and a low hand.12
  • If no player qualifies for low, the high hand takes the whole pot.12
  • Low hands are compared by their highest card first; the lowest combination wins the low half.1

Where this term is used

Not the same as

Poker Omaha poker hand rankings High-hand rankings used in all Omaha variants. Poker Poker hand rankings Standard high-hand rankings for most poker games. Poker 5-card Omaha hi-lo strategy Strategy for the five-card Omaha hi-lo variant. Poker Omaha poker hands Overview of hand types and rules in Omaha. Poker Texas Hold'em hands Hand rankings and starting hands for Texas hold'em. Poker Hi-lo poker rules General rules for high-low split poker games.

Sources

  1. Omaha Poker - card game rules pagat.com Provides the low-hand qualifier rule and ranking examples for Omaha hi-lo.
  2. Poker Rules - Pagat pagat.com Details the eight-or-better rule and low-hand ranking method.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.