Spelregels van Texas Holdem Omaha High/Low

Omaha Hi Lo (ook Omaha 8 of Better genoemd) is een spel waar vaak grote potten aan te pas komen en dat is dan ook de reden waarom het zo snel aan populariteit gewonnen heeft in Noord Amerika en Europa. In Omaha Hi Lo, krijgen alle spelers vier kaarten. Deze kaarten behoren enkel tot de spelers zelf en kunnen ook niet gezien worden door de andere spelers. Op het bord worden er dan vijf open en gemeenschappelijke kaarten uitgedeeld.

Het doel van het spel is de beste vijf kaarten hand te hebben uit twee van de vier hole cards in uw handen en drie van de 5 gemeenschappelijke kaarten op het bord. De pot wordt verdeeld tussen de spelers die over de hoogste hand beschikt en de speler die over de laagste hand beschikt, vandaar de naam: Omaha High Low. De waarden van de verschillende pokerhanden bij Omaha High low kan u hier terugvinden: waarde pokerhanden. Omaha hi lo wordt altijd gespeeld met een "8 of beter". Dit betekent dat de lage proporties van de pot niets hoger dan een acht mag bedragen. In Omaha high/low zijn de waarden van de handen dezelfde als bij Seven Card Stud High Low.

Varianten van de Omaha High Low game

Omaha High Low kan met de verschillende varianten gespeeld worden:

• Fix Limit Omaha High Low - Specifieke limieten voor de biedingen bepaald bij elke spel en elke biedingsronde.
• Pot Limit Omaha High Low - Biedingen zijn beperkt door het aantal poker chips in de pot
• No Limit Omaha High Low - Elke speler kan bieding zolang hij nog chips heeft.

Omaha Hi Lo spelregels en spelverloop

In Omaha Hi Lo, a disk represents the dealer button, and also shows which player will serve as the nominal dealer for the current game. Before the game starts, the player immediately clockwise the button posts the "small blind", which is usually one half of the smallest bet (for example, $2 in a $2/$4 Omaha Hi Lo game). The player immediately clockwise of the small blind posts the "big blind", which is the full bet ($4 in a $2/$4 Omaha Hi Lo game). Then, all players are dealt their four hole cards.

Betting action starts from the player immediately clockwise of the big blind and then continues around the table. After the betting round, the flop is dealt face-up on the board. The flop is made up of the first three community cards available to all active players. Betting begins with the player immediately clockwise the button. All bets and raises take place in a total bet ($4 in a $2/$4 game).

When betting action is completed, the turn is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in the Omaha Hi Lo. Play begins with the player immediately clockwise the button. In this Fix Limit round of Omaha High Low, the unit of the bet is doubled. For example, $8 are bet in a $2/$4 Omaha Hi Lo game.

After the betting action is completed for the turn round, the "river" is dealt face-up on the board. The river is the fifth and final community card in Omaha Hi Lo. Betting begins with the active player immediately clockwise the button. If more than one player is left after the final betting round, then the last bettor or raiser shows his or her cards first. If there was no bet in the final round, the active player immediately clockwise the button shows his or her cards first. The player who has the highest five-card poker hand wins half the pot, and the player who has the lowest five-card poker hand takes the other half.
Players must apply two and only two of their four hole cards in combination with three cards from the board in Omaha Hi Lo. Should the highest and the lowest hands be held by several players at the same time, then the pots' high and low halves are divided between the entitled players in equal proportions. If there is no valid low five-card poker hand, the player with the best five-card poker hand wins the low half of the pot. After the pot is awarded, players can start a new game of Omaha High Low. The button moves clockwise to the next player.

The "eight or better" rule

Review the next part, should you be unfamiliar with the rules of the low poker hand. The colors and rows do not count in low poker hands. All cards higher than the number eight card and one of the pairs are also discarded.

Additionally, the Ace rates low card, so the best low poker hand is the wheel, like 5, 4, 3, 2, A. Examples of low hands, from weakest (#1) to strongest (#7):

• 8, 7, 6, 5, 4
• 8, 7, 5, 3, 2
• 7, 6, 3, 2, A
• 7, 5, 4, 3, 2
• 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
• 6, 4, 3, 2, A
• 5, 4, 3, 2, A

The following hands do not conform to the rules governing the low poker hand, and thus may not win the lower half of the pot:

• J, T, 9, 8, 7 (no 8 or better)
• 9, 4, 3, 2, A (no 8 or better)
• 7, 6, 2, A, A (an 8 or better poker hand may not include a pair)

Do never forget that if there is not a lower card, and if there are at least three different number eights on the board, this means that nobody has the best low poker hand, so the player who has the strongest poker hand wins the full pot.

Summary

The growth in the popularity of on-line Omaha High Low poker is unrivaled. While getting a grasp of the rules for Omaha High Low may not be easy at first, this version of poker remains an entertaining game, and has attracted many regular Omaha poker players, as well as Texas Hold'em players. We hope you will enjoy our regularly scheduled poker tournaments.