How to Play Big O

Updated August 2026 · 5 min read · By the Beyond Hold'em team
The short answer

Big O is Omaha Hi-Lo with five hole cards instead of four. You still use exactly two of them plus exactly three from the board, and the pot still splits between the best high hand and the best low at eight or better. The extra card widens what you can make; it does not change the two-card rule.

The rules in six ideas

Coming from Omaha Hi-Lo, there is one new fact and it is the card count. Everything else on this page is the same game, played harder.

1. Five hole cards. One more than Omaha, and it changes the maths more than it sounds like it should — five cards make ten possible two-card combinations instead of six.

2. Exactly two still play. Two from your hand, three from the board, every time and for each half of the pot. The extra card gives you more choices, not more cards in the hand.

3. The pot splits, high and low. Half to the best high hand, half to the best low — and the low needs to clear the qualifier: five unpaired cards, all eight or lower.

4. No qualifying low means no low half at all. If nobody can make five unpaired cards eight or lower, the best high hand takes the entire pot. With only three board cards allowed, this happens more often than beginners expect.

No low is possible here
7♦
5♠
Q♥
J♠
K♣
the board — only two cards eight or lower
✗ three board cards must play, so there is no low for anyone

5. Everything is bigger. More cards means better highs and better lows, so the scoop gets fought over harder and the pots get larger. Second-best hands are expensive here.

6. It is played pot limit. The largest bet allowed is the size of the pot, which is the other reason this game produces the biggest pots in the mix.

Try it — one real decision

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The board is 7♦ 5♠ Q♥ J♠ K♣. You hold A-2-3-4-6. Is there a low?

7♦
5♠
Q♥
J♠
K♣
BOARD

How the betting works

Blinds, four betting rounds, and pot limit — the largest bet allowed is the current size of the pot. The most common version of Big O plays exactly this way, pot limit with the eight-or-better split. Some rooms spread it high-only, with no low half at all.

Frequently asked questions

How many hole cards do you get in Big O?
Five. You still use exactly two of them, plus exactly three from the board, for each half of the pot.
Is Big O the same as Omaha Hi-Lo?
Almost. Big O deals five hole cards instead of four and is usually played pot limit; the exactly-two rule and the eight-or-better split are identical.
What happens if nobody makes a low in Big O?
There is no low half, and the best high hand takes the entire pot. With only three board cards playing, a board with fewer than three low cards makes a low impossible for everyone.
Why is Big O called Big O?
The pots. More hole cards means better hands all round, and the eight-or-better split gets contested harder, so the money piles up faster than in four-card Omaha.
Can you use three hole cards for the low in Big O?
No. Exactly two hole cards and exactly three board cards, for the low as well as the high. Five good low cards in your hand still only ever contribute two.

Terms to know

qualifierscoopbabiesthe wheel

Reading about poker doesn't make you good at it.

Big O is coming to Beyond Hold'em — the skills transfer. Razz is where reading a low hand becomes automatic, which is the half of Big O that decides pots. It is playable right now.

Play Razz free — the friendliest door into mixed games