Mixed Omaha High Low At Pokerstars
Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo is a fun game of Omaha Hi-Lo with some of the rounds being pot limit and some of the rounds being fixed limit. You will only find this fun mixed Poker game available at the best available real money Poker room on the web, PokerStars. At PokerStars in 2013 you will find a slim variety of small to mid level stakes with the rounds changing every 9 rounds from fixed limit to pot limit structure. The game is played just like Omaha except you are looking for both the high hand and the low hand. Another rule that you need to always keep in mind when playing Omaha is that you MUST use 2 of your hole cards and 3 of the table cards to make your 5 card Poker hand.
Omaha Hi Lo Rules
Omaha Poker is set up just like Texas Holdem Poker. The players will draw for deal at a new table and which players wins the deal will determine which 2 players will start in the blind. There are always a small blind and a big blind. The big blind is twice the amount of the small blind. The 2 players closest to the dealer’s left will be the blind players. The reason for having a blind is to cause a forced action. With players being forced to start with money in the pot, there is guaranteed to be some money in the Pot, in draw and stud games, instead of blinds you will usually find bring in bets which are also forced action bets.
Once all blinds are out, the dealer will start with the small blind player and deal clockwise around the table finishing when the player with the dealer button has 4 cards. This is the first big difference between Omaha and Texas Holdem, instead of 2 hole cards to work with, you will be given 4 hole cards. Once the cards have been dealt, action will start with the player to the left of the big blind and follow around the table until all bets are called and the pot is right. Our online gambling blog features some more articles about this mixed poker game.
At this point the dealer will deal the flop, which are the first 3 community cards that the dealer will place in the center of the table face up for all to see and use. After the flop is dealt, another betting round will start, this time starting with the small blind player, or the player nearest to the dealer’s left. Once the second betting round is complete, the dealer will deal the turn card, which is the fourth community card that the dealer places in the middle of the table for all players to use. After the turn is dealt, another betting round will start. Once the third betting round is complete, the dealer will deal the river, which is the fifth and final face up community card that the dealer will place on the table. Once the river has been dealt, the final betting round will again start with the player closest to the dealer’s left and when the pot is right, all players left in the hand will showdown.
The player with the highest hand will win 1/2 of the pot and the player with the low hand will win the other 1/2 of the pot. In order to have a qualifying low hand, there must be 3 community cards that are under 8, as well as 2 cards in your hand under 8. A low hand can be any combination of A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, straights and flushes do not count for the low hand. If there are no qualifying low hands, the player with the high hand will get the entire pot. Also, you can scoop the pot by having both the high hand and the low hand, a good example for this is A-5 straight flush which is the lowest possible hand, as well as a straight flush towards the high hand.
Limit Structures
As mentioned above, there are 2 different betting structures that are used when playing Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo. There are fixed limit rounds and pot limit rounds. Each round is 9 hands long. Fixed limit means that there is a designated amount that you can bet up to before the game ever starts. With fixed limit, a total of 4 bets can be made each round. Say for instance you are playing a $3/$6 table where the blinds are $1 and $3. On the first 3 betting rounds, you can make 4 bets of $3 making the highest you can bet $12 before it is capped. On the turn and the river betting rounds, the bets will start at $6 and you will be able to make 4 bets of $6 making the most you can bet $24. Of course, only one bet may be made at a time, so if the bet is $3, you can only raise to $6, not to $9 or $12.
Pot limit is a little bit different. There is a limit that you can not bet more than, but that amount changes as bets are made. For example, the dealer has just dealt the flop and the betting round has began. There is $200 in the pot and the big blind bet $50 which 3 other players called, that means there is now $400 in the pot and if you were to just call the bet, there would be $450 in the pot. That is the highest amount that you can raise it at this point is $450. Of course, it is entirely possible to be forced all in to call by the river if the pot has been bet the whole way. This is something that players don’t think about when playing a mixed limit game.
