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I know this is a basic question for most everyone, but I am consistently confusing the hand values in Omaha 8 or better hi lo split. Your help is appreciated. Which of the following hands is low and why?
Hand a: Ac 4c 8c 4h
Hand b: 7s 3s 2s 8d
Board cards: 10h 7c 8s Jc 5s

Answer 1:

Well, player A has 8754A. Player B has 87532.
Now, let’s say for a moment that they had two different hands: KQJT2 and KQJ98. Since player 1 has a higher fourth card, he would be high, correct? In the same way, Player B’s ’3′ is lower than player A’s ’4′. so Player B gets the low.

Answer 2:

Or to fully explain:
Hand a’s lo hand is:
Ac 4c from hand and 5s 7c 8s from board.
Hand b’s lo hand is
3s 2s from hand and 5s 7c 8s from board.
So a has a 8-7-5-4-A hand and b has a 8-7-5-3-2 hand. Therefore A’s hand is higher on the 4th card as a kicker. Therefore B gets the lo pot. (B also has the better high hand in playing for the hi pot).

Answer 3:

Ace is the lowest card, but low hands are compared like all poker hands, first by type of hand (in this case, no-pair), then by rank starting highest-ranked in your hand. So, for 8754A, the A is the lowest card in the hand. It’s used ONLY to break ties if both hands “start” with 8754. Your confusion isn’t that A is the lowest card, it’s that hands are compared using the high card first. Aside from the fact that Ace is counted low and straights and flushes are ignored, the comparison is “worst 5-card hand”. Figure out which no-pair hand would win if it were regular high poker, and give the pot to the other hand. Thus, 8765A loses to 76543 (straights and flushes are ignored for low, by the way). The highest card is compared first, so it doesn’t matter that the 8-high hand has an Ace, the fact that it has an 8 kills it compared to the 7-high hand.