Omaha Poker Hands
Once you have studied Omaha Hi-Lo Poker Rules, the next step is to learn Omaha hi-lo hand rankings. In Omaha hi-lo, the pot is divided evenly between the high hand and the low hand.
- That variance makes playing Omaha poker, creating winning Omaha strategies, and choosing strong Omaha starting hands a little trickier. Although you get 4 cards to choose from, keep in mind that so do all the other players at the table, so there are more cards dealt out altogether.
- For a Royal Flush you need an Ace King Queen Jack Ten all of one suit, hearts or clubs.
- In Omaha Hi-Lo poker games, players must use 3 cards from the board – the Flop, Turn, and River – to form a poker hand. For this reason, if you have Ace-3-4-X, the 2 will slot neatly in between the Ace and the 3. If your unknown card – X - is a 4, then, your low would be beaten.
In 5 Card Omaha games, all players use exactly three of the community cards together with exactly two of their hole cards to make the best five-card poker hand. No more, and no less. Follow this link to view the rankings of Omaha poker hands. Types of 5 Card Omaha Poker Games.
The high hand ranking is similar to Texas Holdem and Omaha. Keep in mind that the ranking reflects how rare it is to form a hand. Let’s take a look at all the high hand rankings.
High Hand Rankings (ordered by increasing value)
Omaha Strategy Starting Hands
| Hand | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 10. High card | Unrelated and unpaired cards | |
| 9. One pair | Two cards of the same rank | |
| 8. Two pair | Two different pairs | |
| 7. Three of a kind (or set) | Three cards of the same rank | |
| 6. Straight | Five consecutive cards | |
| 5. Flush | All cards of the same suit | |
| 4. Full house | Three of a kind with a pair | |
| 3. Four of a kind (or quads) | Four cards of the same rank | |
| 2. Straight flush | Five consecutive cards, all of the same suit | |
| 1. Royal flush | Ace-High Straight Flush |
Low and the Eight or Better Qualifier
Not all hands qualify for the low. Furthermore, if no player makes a low hand, the high wins the entire pot. A valid low hand consists of five different cards, so no pair, ranked eight or lower, with the ace counting as the lowest card. Straights and flushes are ignored, so the following hands are valid low hands.
Hands that contain any pair or any card nine to king do not qualify for the low. So the following hands do not count as low.
Low Hand Rankings
In a low hand, the lower the card denominations are, the stronger the hand is. Low hands are evaluated, starting from the highest rank card (remember, the ace counts as the lowest), in a top-down approach. The player with the lowest card from the top wins. If the cards are even, the second card from the top is taken into account, and so on.
For example, consider that Player A has 8♥5♠4♣3♥2♥, and Player B has 8♥6♠4♣2♥A♣. To determine who has the best low, we first compare the first cards starting from the top. As they both have an eight, the second card from the top is examined. Player A has the smallest, the five, so he wins. Let’s take a look at some examples.
Best Poker Hands Omaha
Low Hand Examples (ordered by increasing value)
Omaha Poker Top Hands
| Example | Name |
|---|---|
| Worse qualifying low | |
| Eight high low | |
| Seven high low | |
| Seven high low | |
| Six high low | |
| Six high low | |
| The wheel, best possible low! |
Winning Omaha Poker Hands
Do you have any questions about Omaha hi-lo starting hands? Or more tips to add to this post? Let us know in the comments section below!