No-pair hands are compared starting with the highest ranking card, just as in high poker, except that the high poker hand loses. In ace-to-five low, straights and flushes are ignored, and aces play as the lowest card.

For example, the hand 8-5-4-3-2 defeats 9-7-6-4-3, because eight-high is lower than nine-high. The hand 7-6-5-4-3 defeats both, because seven-high is lower still, even though it would be a straight if played for high. Aces are low, so 8-5-4-3-A defeats 8-5-4-3-2. Also, A-A-9-5-3 (a pair of aces) defeats 2-2-5-4-3 (a pair of deuces), but both of those would lose to any no-pair hand such as K-J-8-6-4. In the rare event that hands with pairs tie, kickers are used just as in high poker (but reversed): 3-3-6-4-2 defeats 3-3-6-5-A.

This is called ace-to-five low because the lowest and therefore best possible poker hand is 5-4-3-2-A, called a wheel or bicycle. The next best possible hand is 6-4-3-2-A, followed by 6-5-3-2-A, 6-5-4-2-A, 6-5-4-3-A, 6-5-4-3-2, 7-4-3-2-A, 7-5-3-2-1, etc.

When speaking, low poker hands are referred to by their highest ranking card or cards. Any nine-high hand can be called “a nine,” and is defeated by any “eight.” Two cards are frequently used: the hand 8-6-5-4-2 can be called “an eight-six” and will defeat “an eight-seven” such as 8-7-5-4-A.

High-low split poker games with ace-to-five low are usually played cards speak, that is, without a declaration. Frequently a qualifier is required for low (typically 8-high or 9-high).

Some poker hands (particularly small straights and flushes) may be both the low and the high hand, and are particularly powerful (or particularly dangerous if they are mediocre both ways). Winning both halves of the pot in a split-pot poker game is called scooping or hogging the pot. The perfect poker hand in such a game is called a steel wheel, 5-4-3-2-A of one suit, which plays both as perfect low and a straight flush high.

Note that it is possible – though astronomically unlikely – to have this hand and still lose money! If the pot has three players, and one other player has a mixed-suit wheel, and a third has a suited 10-9-8-7-6 for a higher straight flush, the higher straight flush wins the high half of the pot, and you and the other wheel split the low half of the pot, so you have won only a quarter of a three-way pot. Strange things can happen at poker tables.

Ace-to-five lowball is often played with a joker added to the deck. The joker always plays as the lowest card not already present in the hand (in other words, it is a wild card): in 7-5-4-Joker-A, for example, the joker plays as a 2. This can cause some interesting effects for high-low split poker games.

Let’s say that Alice has 6-5-4-3-2 (called a “straight six“) – a reasonably good hand for both high and low. Burt has Joker-6-5-4-3. By applying the rule for wild cards in straights, Burt’s joker plays as a 7 for high, giving him a seven-high straight to defeat Alice’s six-high straight. For low, the joker plays as an ace – the lowest card not in Burt’s hand – and his poker hand also defeats Alice for low, because his low hand is 6-5-4-3-A, lower than her straight six by one notch. Jokers are very powerful in high-low split poker games.

No matter how wealthy you are, it is often best to start out at the lower limits simply because the competition there is easier. Few ‘professionals’ play at the $1-2 games, so it is a relatively safe place to begin one’s poker career. Even if you are a billionaire, no one will know it when you play on the internet and think any less of you for playing at a low limit.

When choosing a limit, the major choices come when one decides to move up a limit or down a limit. Generally, you should only move up a limit if you think you are comfortable playing at that limit for seven sessions or more. Do not choose a limit so high that it makes you scared to play. Playing scared is a guaranteed recipe for losing. It is also not wise to ‘go for it’ at a higher limit. If you are making a run for it at a higher limit, you probably do not have the bankroll to survive there for long. Even if you win on two straight sessions, you will likely bust out and have to move down if you are not bankrolled enough at any given limit.

If you take a hit at a higher limit, you should generally move down. However, you shouldn’t move down so far that you are totally unmotivated to play. If you move up to $25-50 from $10-20, you shouldn’t fall back to $1-2 once you decide that $25-50 is too high. While people tend to play too scared at a higher limit, they also tend to play too loose at a lower limit. Play a limit that motivates you to play, but also at which that you are not scared to play.

There is another version of Omaha called Omaha hi-lo. In this game the high hand and low hand split the pot. This article will not discuss the hi-lo version; I will only talk about Omaha hi.

Some good places to play low-limit Omaha are Party Poker or Empire Poker (they are on the same network). Another place to play is Paradise Poker but they don’t have as many Omaha players.

Starting hands
In longhanded Omaha there really isn’t any such thing as a “dominant hand” preflop. You could get two Aces and two Kings and still easily get beat. However, that isn’t to say that you should call to the flop with just anything. You should still play tight preflop and wait for a good hand, although now there are many types of good hands, hands that become dominant after the flop hits. The best starting hands in Omaha are hands where you hit two pair and your draw, for example Kh Qc Jh 10c. (A decent flop would be Q J x). Those hands are a bit rare, so another good hand in a loose game would just be a hand with a lot of drawing possibilities. If you are expecting a multi-way pot, then it is important to be drawing to the nuts. In other words, you want to draw to an Ace-high flush, not a 9-high flush. Also, you don’t want to draw toward straights if you have low cards and are likely to end up at the low end of the straight.

You may wish to simply call preflop with drawing hands so as to not scare away the loose-passive players. This way you also risk less if you don’t hit your draw. However, if you hold a hand which has strength in high cards, such as Ah Ad Ks Js, then you should raise. You should also raise with several drawing possibilities to build up the pot, if you feel that people are staying in too much for big pots.

Hands with only a high pair can sometimes be played. Play AAxx, KKxx definitely; with AAxx you should raise if you think you can knock people out and get the hand heads-up or 3-way. You may experiment with QQxx but that is very borderline. A set would be nice, but sets aren’t so great in Omaha since someone can easily draw a flush or straight on you. With high pairs you really want to hit a high full house, and rob someone who thinks their lower full house is the high-hand. The main reason high pairs are much less valuable than in Texas is because having an Overpair on the flop is worthless in Omaha. Most likely someone else has a two-pair.

Flop play
In general, you want to fold any hand unless you have top 2 pair or a draw to the nuts or near-nuts (for example a King-high flush). These requirements can be relaxed a bit if the game is shorthanded: you can draw to slightly lower straights/flushes. However, you still don’t want to be calling with one pair.

If there is a pair on board and you don’t have trips, then do not draw. Most likely someone has the trips and you’re unlikely to semibluff people out of the pot. If you call and hit your draw, you may be beat by a full house!

Semi-bluffs are only useful if you can think you can win outright. However, in many loose low-limit games you will get called to showdown by multiple players. In this case, you don’t want to semi-bluff that much. Maybe throw in one or two for deception, but try to avoid it otherwise.

Two pair and sets are troublesome if there is a draw on board. With several people in hand, there may be so many outs against you that you will probably lose the hand! Try to go for a check-raise and punish people for drawing. However, be prepared to fold at the turn if a draw (or two!) hits and you think you are beat. If you hit your full house, you can try slowplaying (if you have the nut full house) and hope someone hits their straight or flush. However, don’t overdo the slowplay, you should only do it if you really can’t be hurt by the river card, and be more inclined to slowplay if the opponents fall for it often and if you have position. If you find your opponents to be call-stations then go ahead and bet on the turn anyway. If your opponents are new at Omaha and they think their Ace-flush is the nut hand when the board is paired, you don’t want to slowplay. Often times these players will cap out against you on the turn and river despite the full house possibility showing!

However, please note that full house is not even guaranteed to be high-hand. It is quite common to see one full house beat by another at an Omaha game. Generally, you have a low full house if your trip is lower than the board pair, and you are probably safe to win if your trip is higher than the board pair. The best way to tell if your full house is the best hand is by paying attention to your opponents betting sequence. With a low full house, you may consider trying to encourage a bluff by checking and calling instead of betting out, on a fraction of your hands.

Turn play
If you hit your flush or straight by the turn you definitely should bet hard, and even check-raise if you are certain someone will bet (But bet outright if you have any doubt). There could easily be a set or two pair out against you and they could make their full house on the river. Make sure they don’t get a free card here.

River play
Often times the board will have no straight or flush showing and you think your two pair or set is the high hand. Then a scare card will hit on the river. If this happens, you may want to check down the river. After all, if you get check-raised, you are doubling the amount of money you have put into the hand. It depends on how many opponents are still in the hand and how they played it, but in a multi-way pot, checking is usually the right move. However, if your opponent rarely check-raises, or if he has played the hand like he had two pair, then you may consider betting.

If you are on the other side of the coin, and you hit your hand on the river, you may want to bet out instead of check-raising, because your opponent may check it down. I usually mix-up whether I bet or check-raise in that situation, depending on what I think my opponent has, but also to add deception and uncertainty. It is important to make your opponents fear the check-raise so that they are afraid to bet on the river, letting you see some showdowns more cheaply.

Here are three of the top online poker rooms where you can enjoy playing poker online for free or for real money:

• Royal Vegas Poker
• Virtual City Poker
• 7Sultans Poker