How Do Low Poker Games Work
In the last post, we discussed the basics to Omaha Hi Lo. While the Hi part is obvious, it is just regular Omaha Hold ‘Em, the Lo part is confusing and hard for beginners to grasp. For those still shaking their heads over the brief discussion of low games in the last post, we will discuss what low poker games are and how they are played.
In most poker games, the object is to create the best possible poker hand. These hands range from a royal flush to a simple pair. The basics of these hands are easy to learn as they ask players to find pairings, sequences, and cards of the same suit. In low poker games, however, all these rules are thrown out the window and replaced by a different set of rules. As the name of the game indicates, low poker games are played with the main goal of creating the lowest possible hand possible.
This means that you don’t have to worry about making specific sequences or matching colors or suits. In low games that are played in combination with other high games, like Omaha Hi Lo, there often is a limit to which cards can be used to make a low hand. In Omaha Hi Lo, for instance, players cannot create a low hand unless they can make a five-card hand with cards that all have values under seven. Someone whose five lowest cards are eight, seven, four, two, and ace cannot make a low hand in this type of game.
The best low hand is, for obvious reasons, ace, two, three, four, five. This hand, commonly called the wheel, will win any low hand. There are no advantages given to suits in the low game so the worst a player can do with this hand is a tie.
Hopefully this discussion helps you learn some of the more specific rules that accompany low poker games. We will discuss more later.
Filed under: Strategies
