Dealing the Game of Omaha Hi Lo
The object of Omaha Hi/Lo is to create a High hand using any two
out of four pocket cards and three out of five community cards, and
a Low hand using any two out of four pocket cards and three out of
five community cards. 50% of the pot will be awarded to the best
High hand and 50% of the pot will be awarded to the best Low hand.
If there is no qualifying Low hand, the whole pot will be awarded
to the best High hand.
To qualify as a Low hand, the hand must contain five unpaired
cards ranked eight (8) or lower. Straights and flushes are not
considered when evaluating low hands. The winning Low hand is the
hand with the lowest high card. In case of a tie with the high
card, the winning hand is the one with the next lowest high card
and so on.
It is not possible to have a qualifying Low hand unless three of
the community cards are ranked eight (8) or lower. Aces can be used
as the lowest card. A player can use any two of his/her pocket
cards for the High hand, and any two of his/her pocket cards for
the Low hand.
Before the Deal
- Players will buy-in for the posted amount.
- Selected players will post blinds.
The Dealer Button
The dealer in Omaha HiLo will start to deal each game contingent
on which player has the "button". The button is a graphical
representation ("D") of which player is the "dealer." Although our
dealer will be dealing the game, the player who has the button
placed in front of his seat gets to play his cards as if he were
the actual dealer. When the cards are dealt to players, they are
dealt in a manner as if the player was actually dealing in a live
environment.
Blinds:
Because we have a player "on the button" we now ask two players
to "post the big or small blinds please." The blinds serve a
purpose similar to antes, in that they put forced money into the
pot that gives players an incentive to enter the hand. However,
only two players will "post" or "put up" the blinds.
The first blind is called the "small blind". This bet is usually
half the minimum bet of the game.
So, in a $2-4 game the small blind will be $1. The second blind is
called the "big blind" and is always the same size as the game's
minimum bet, e.g., in a 2-4 game, the big blind is $2.
The player directly left of the button will have the "small
blind." The player directly to the left of the small blind will
have the "big blind" of the full amount of the lowest game
limit.
Opening Deal
Now that we have a Button and small and big blinds, we are ready
to deal. The dealer always deals from the player
closest to the dealer's left. Moving clockwise around the table,
the game will "deal-in" each player. The players will be dealt four
cards face down. A round of betting will occur starting with the
player seated to the left of the big blind.
Betting on Opening Deal
The player seated to the left of the big blind will always have
the action on the opening deal. This player may not check, but
rather can only fold, call, or raise.
The game will now advance to each player seated asking to fold,
call, or raise until we reach the big blind for an action decision.
If no one has raised by the time the play comes back around to the
big blind, the big blind has the option to "check" his own blind
wager or raise.
Once all players have completed the first round of wagering, they
will proceed to the flop.
Flop:
The next cards to be dealt into the game will be the fifth,
sixth and seventh cards in the game. These three cards will not be
dealt to each player, but rather placed face up in the center of
the table.
But before we "flop" anything, we must burn a card. The dealer
will deal one face down card into the muck. After the burn card,
the dealer will deal three cards face up in the centre of the poker
table. These three cards are called "community cards" which are
available to all players for potential use to make a poker hand.
The area in which these cards lie on the table is commonly referred
to as the "board".
The look of the flop:
Now the flop has landed on the "board" and all players now have
seven cards available to make their hand, the four "hole" cards
that were dealt on the opening round and now three "community
cards" which all players may use. In Omaha High, a poker hand must
consist of exactly two face down cards and three community cards.
The rule of the determination of the action is as follows.
After the opening deal, the player who is seated closest to the
left of the button shall have the initial action for the remainder
of the game. If the player who has the button folds, then the
button is still active and will remain in front of that player's
seat to keep the position of the button constant throughout that
game.
The player that has the action may check or bet. As soon as one
player chooses to bet, then the other players in the hand can no
longer check; they can only fold, call or raise.
The Turn:
The "turn" is the fourth card to be dealt onto the board and the
eighth card available to the player. Some players call this "fourth
street." However, the most common term used for this round is the
"turn". As always, the dealer will burn a card and then deal one
card face up onto the board to the right of the last flop
card.
The look of the turn:
The 9 of spades is the "turn card"
At this point the players have access to the four cards on the
board and their four hole cards. The game will now declare who has
the action, which always begins with the player still remaining in
the hand who is closest to the left of the button.
The River:
The dealer will then place the fifth and final card on the
board.
At this point, five cards are on the board and four hole cards are
in the players' hands. The action again starts with the first
player still remaining in the hand who is closest to the left of
the button. All checks, bets, raises, and folds will be completed
and then a showdown will begin.
Who shows first?
The determination of which players' cards will and must be shown
first will lie with the player who initiated the action or with the
person who initiated the last bet, raise or re-raise. This simply
means that whoever had the last action on the river must show
his/her cards first.
Suppose a Player wins by default?
A player who has a winning hand does not have to show his/her
cards if his/her bet was not called.
Do Players have to show their cards if they call a bet on the
river?
A player is not required to show their cards if, and only if,
they are not the player who had the last action. If a player calls
a bet and sees that he/she cannot win, he/she may fold his/her
cards. Players who are curious about the folded hand may request a
hand history to learn it.
Who Wins?
In our poker room, as with all, "cards speak." That means our
dealer will automatically find the best five-card hand using three
out of the five community cards on the board and two out of the
four pocket cards in the player's hand. The winner will be decided
based on the universal poker hand rankings.
Omaha Hi Lo Blind Rules
All players must pay for their
blinds in full before they are allowed to get the button.
Therefore, the player who had posted the small blind in the prior
hand will receive the button on the next deal of any game.
If in the event we have a new player to the game, then three (3)
actions will occur.
- If the new player is seated to the left of the blind, then
he/she may choose to "post" the big blind or "wait." If the player
does post, then his/her wager is active.
- If the new player is seated in the big blind, then he/she is
treated as such.
- If the player is seated between the button and any blind, then
he/she must wait for the button to pass.
Missed blinds - rules and procedures:
- Missed big blind: If a player misses the big blind
for any reason, then that player may not play in any hands until
the sum of all blinds are made up. The game will place an "ML"
button in that seat to declare the missed big blind. The game will
ask the next active player to the left to post the big blind for
the hand. If the missed player makes up the sum of all blinds, then
the small blind portion is dead and must be put into the pot before
the hand is dealt.
- Missed small blind: If a player misses the small
blind for any reason, then that player may not play in any hands
until the small blind is made up. The game will place an "MS"
button in that seat to declare the missed small blind. The
game will ask the current big blind to please also post the small
blind for the game. The game will further ask the next
active player to the left to post the big blind. The player who had
missed the small cannot return until after the button has passed.
When and if the player does make up the missed small blind, then
that money is dead and must be placed directly into the pot before
any cards are dealt.