Poker Lesson 39: The Lo Hand in Omaha Hi/Lo

Most folks who are new to the game of Omaha Hi/Lo will find the Lo aspect of the game a little confusing at first. For those of you who are scratching your heads over this part of the popular poker game, here is the bottom line: a low hand consists of five different cards that are eight or lower. Three of these come from the board and two must come from your hand. Below there are the general implications for those who want to play a Lo hand:
- There must be three cards, eight or lower, on the board for any low to qualify since you must play exactly three low cards from the board.

- There must be at least two cards, eight or lower, in your hand for you to qualify for a low.

- A low straight or flush still qualifies as a low. The best possible low is A,2,3,4,5, the worst possible low is 4,5,6,7,8. Here are some examples of what we are talking about. The board shows: 2c Qd 5s 10d 8s.

This makes a Lo possible because three of the cards are 8 or lower. The cards in your hand are: Ad 2h Kh Kd. With these cards you cannot make a low hand. This is because you need two cards from your hand to make a Lo hand, and the cards you are holding simply don't have what it takes. The two of clubs on the board has "counterfeited" your two of hearts. The two on the board has cancelled out the two in your hand.

If the cards that are clutched in your hand are: Ad 3d 10c Qc then you can qualify for the Lo because the Ace and 3 that you are holding are combined with 2, 5, and 8 on the board to form a hand that contains five different cards eight or lower.