Gambling terms, explained straight

Poker

Omaha hi-lo rules

Omaha hi-lo rules govern a split-pot variant of Omaha in which each player uses exactly two hole cards and three board cards to make a high hand and a low hand, with the pot divided between them if a qualifying low exists.

Also called
Omaha/8, Omaha Eight or Better, Omaha HiLo, Omaha Hi-Lo/824
Card use
Exactly 2 hole cards and exactly 3 board cards per hand1
Low qualifier
Usually 8-or-better; a 9-low qualifier is rare3
Low hand rules
Aces are low; straights and flushes do not count1
No qualifying low
The best high hand wins the entire pot32

Key points

  • At showdown, each player makes the best possible high hand and the best possible low hand under the two-from-hand, three-from-board rule.1
  • The pot is split between the high and low halves; the same player can win both halves (scoop).32
  • If no player has a qualifying low (8-or-better), the best high hand scoops the whole pot.32
  • Omaha hi-lo strategy differs from standard Omaha because you must consider both halves of the pot and the risk of being quartered.

How a showdown works

  1. Each active player selects exactly 2 hole cards and 3 board cards to form a high hand, then does the same for a low hand.1
  2. If at least one low hand qualifies (five cards ranked 8 or lower, aces low), the pot is split: half to the best high hand, half to the best low hand.32
  3. If no low qualifies, the best high hand wins the entire pot.32

Where this term is used

Not the same as

  • Omaha hi-lo hand rankings — a page about how high and low hands are ranked, not the full split-pot rules or card-use rules
Poker Omaha poker rules hi-lo Covers the same game concept with a different word order. Poker Hi-lo poker rules General rules for any split-pot poker variant, not just Omaha. Poker 5-card Omaha hi-lo strategy Strategy advice for a five-card version of Omaha hi-lo. Poker 5 card poker rules Rules for standard five-card draw poker, not Omaha hi-lo. Poker Texas holdem rules Rules for Texas hold'em, a different poker variant without split pots. Poker Poker hold em rules Another page on Texas hold'em rules, not Omaha hi-lo.

Sources

  1. ROBERTS RULES OF POKER pagat.com Provides the core rule that exactly two hole cards and three board cards are used, and low hand evaluation rules.
  2. Omaha Poker - card game rules pagat.com Confirms the split-pot mechanism, the 8-or-better qualifier, and the alternative names for the game.
  3. Omaha hold 'em en.wikipedia.org Supports the 8-or-better low qualifier and the rule that the high hand wins if no low qualifies.
  4. Community card poker en.wikipedia.org Provides the alternative name 'Omaha Eight or Better'.

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.