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Poker rules

Omaha poker rules: PLO and Omaha Hi-Lo explained

If you know Texas Hold'em, you already know most of Omaha. The deal, blinds and betting rounds are identical. One rule changes the whole game: you must use exactly two of your four hole cards.

The basics

How Omaha works

Every player is dealt four private hole cards. Five community cards come down in the middle: three on the flop, one on the turn, one on the river, with a round of betting after each, just like Hold'em. The Hold'em rules cover the blinds, the button and the order of play, and they all apply here.

At showdown your hand is the best five cards you can make using exactly two hole cards and exactly three community cards. Hand rankings are the same as in every other poker game; see the hand rankings if you need them.

Omaha is usually played pot-limit (PLO). The most you can bet or raise is the size of the pot, counting your own call first. If the pot is 100 and someone bets 50, calling makes the pot 200, so the biggest raise is to 250 (their 50 plus 200).

The rule that trips everyone up

Exactly two hole cards, exactly three from the board

Three examples show what that rule does in practice.

One heart is not a flush

Board

Your hand

Three hearts on the board plus one heart in your hand is only four hearts. A flush needs two hearts from your hand. Here you only have a pair of jacks.

Two cards make the straight

Board

Your hand

You use J and 7 from your hand with the board's 10-9-8 for a jack-high straight. The K and Q stay unused, because exactly two hole cards play.

Quads on the board are not quads for you

Board

Your hand

You can only use three of the four sevens, so you have three of a kind with an ace and a king, not four of a kind.

The most common mistake for new players is believing that a made hand on the board is theirs. In Omaha you can never play the board. Always count two from your hand, three from the middle.

Playing it well

Starting hands and the nuts

With four cards, the best hands are those where all four work together. Look for:

  • Connected cards like J-10-9-8, which make straights in many ways.
  • Suited cards. Two suits (double suited) is best, for example A♠ K♠ Q♥ J♥.
  • High pairs with suited or connected side cards, like A-A-J-10.

Hands that look strong but have no connection, like K-K-7-2 in four different suits, are weaker than they appear. Because many more hands can win, the big edge in Omaha is playing for the nuts, the best possible hand. The second-best flush loses a lot of chips. Also, hands run much closer together in Omaha than in Hold'em, so the player who is ahead before the flop is far from safe, and more pots go to showdown.

If you want a way to judge a draw, the odds calculator counts outs for you.

Split pot

Omaha Hi-Lo (Omaha eight or better)

In Omaha Hi-Lo, also called O8, the pot is split into two halves. The best high hand wins one half. The best low hand wins the other, as long as someone has a qualifying low. The two-from-hand, three-from-board rule still applies, and you can use different cards for your high and your low.

  • Qualifying low: five different ranks, all eight or lower. Pairs do not count.
  • Ace plays low (and still high for the high hand).
  • Straights and flushes do not hurt a low. A-2-3-4-5 is the best possible low, the wheel, and also a straight for the high.
  • Comparing lows: start from the highest card. 6-4-3-2-A beats 7-5-4-3-2, because six is lower than seven.
  • No qualifying low: the best high hand takes the whole pot.
  • Scooping: winning both halves takes the entire pot. If two players tie for one half, they split that half between them.

An example of a qualifying low:

Board

Your hand

Using 2♠ 3♥ with the board's A, 4 and 6, you make a six-low: 6-4-3-2-A. Your queens make the high hand separately: with the board you have just a pair of queens, so someone with a better high hand takes that half.

Questions

Quick answers

How is Omaha different from Texas Hold'em?
You get four hole cards instead of two, and you must use exactly two of them plus exactly three of the five community cards. Blinds, betting rounds and hand rankings are the same. The extra cards mean stronger hands show up more often and drawing hands matter more.
Do you have to use two hole cards in Omaha?
Yes, exactly two, no more and no fewer. You also must use exactly three board cards. This means you can never play the board, and four of a kind or four suited cards on the board does not give you a flush or quads unless your own cards complete it.
What does PLO mean?
Pot-Limit Omaha. It is Omaha where the biggest bet or raise allowed is the current size of the pot. It is the most common way Omaha is played for high hand only.
What is the low hand in Omaha Hi-Lo?
The best low is five different cards all ranked eight or lower, with ace counting as low. A-2-3-4-5 is the best possible low. Pairs, straights and flushes do not count against your low, so A-2-3-4-5 is both a straight for the high hand and the nut low.
What if no one has a low in Hi-Lo?
Then the high hand wins the whole pot. The pot is only split when at least one player has a qualifying low (eight or better).

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