Gambling terms, explained straight

Poker

Omaha poker hand rankings

In Omaha, the hand rankings are the same five-card hierarchy used in standard poker, but each player's hand must be formed from exactly two of their private cards and three of the community cards.

Hand size
Five cards
Hole cards used
Exactly two
Board cards used
Exactly three

Key points

  • Each Omaha hand must use exactly two hole cards and exactly three community cards.12
  • The high hand follows standard poker hand rankings; in hi-lo, the low hand uses five different ranks with aces low and no card above 8.2
  • Card ranks run from ace high to 2 low, and hands are ordered by category, with higher categories beating lower ones.1

Where this term is used

Not the same as

  • Omaha poker rules hi-lo — covers both high and low pot eligibility and splitting, while Omaha poker hand rankings refer only to the ranking system used to compare made hands

Sources

  1. Ranking of Poker Hands pagat.com Provides the standard five-card hand ranking order used in Omaha.
  2. Omaha Poker - card game rules pagat.com Details the Omaha-specific rule that each hand must use exactly two hole cards and three board cards.

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.