Rankings
of Low Hands in Split-pot games
The best low hand,
composed of five unpaired cards with a rank of eight or
lower, captures half of the pot when you're playing Omaha/8
or 7-stud/8. A hand like 7?6?5?3?2?, beats 8?5?4?2?A?, but
loses to 7?5?4?2?A?.
The worst possible
qualifying low hand is 8-7-6-5-4, while the best low hand
- called a wheel or a bicycle - is 5-4-3-2-A. A wheel can
be tied, in which case all players holding wheels split
the low end of the pot, but it can't be beaten. Because
a wheel is also a five-high straight, it stands a good chance
of being the best high hand as well as the best low hand.
If it is, and it's the only wheel, the proud holder of that
wheel scoops the entire pot.
Figuring out the best
low hand can take some practice. Just begin with the highest
of the low cards and continue in descending order. In Omaha
you must use exactly two cards from your hand and exactly
three from the five community cards to form your best five-card
low hand. Remember, you need five different ranks to have
a low hand.
In 7-stud/8, your
low hand (if you have one) is the five lowest cards of different
ranks from the seven you've been dealt. In virtually all
Internet games, all must be of the eighth rank or lower.
