The 9-4-3-2-A hand contains only four qualifying low cards (the Nine is disqualified), and the 4-3-3-2-A hand only has four cards of different ranks (pairs are also not permitted). Thus 8-7-6-5-4 qualifies as a low hand in Hi/Lo games, whereas 9-4-3-2-A and 4-3-3-2-A do not. In other words, to qualify as a low hand, you must have five different cards ranked Eight or below. In Hi/Lo games, there is always an Eight qualifier for the low. You will notice that the 'wheel' is also a Five-high straight on the high end of the board, which makes it a very powerful holding in Hi/Lo games. The best possible low hand on Omaha Hi/Lo (and Stud Hi/Lo) is 5-4-3-2-A, which is often known as the wheel (or bicycle). Thus the Ace is doubly important in Hi/Lo games � it is the best card for the low side of the pot as well as for the high end.įlushes and straights are completely ignored for the purposes of the low pot. In fact, the Ace is the best possible low card, then the Deuce, then the Trey.

In Hi/Lo poker an Ace counts as a low card when you are calculating the low part of the board. A standard poker deck yields only four ways to make a royal flush, as the royal flush stands. The official definition of royal flush is a ten-to-ace straight with all five cards of matching suits. The first card to consider is the highest card of your five, then the next highest card and so on. Royal flushes top all other hands in the poker hand rankings and are mathematically the rarest made hands that you can draw from a 52-card poker deck. (Paired cards only qualify as one low card, not two!) Your lowest five cards count, but these cards must all be different ranks. Indeed, even experienced players make mistakes reading the low board from time to time. Low hands in poker can often be confusing for newcomers to the game.

What is the best poker hand