Courchevel Hi/Lo Poker is a community card poker variant derived from Omaha Hi/Lo, and it belongs to the split-pot family of poker games. Every player receives five private hole cards, and five community cards are dealt face-up on the board across the hand.
What sets it apart from 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo is timing: the first flop card is turned face-up at the very start, before the pre-flop betting round, which is uncharacteristically talkative behaviour from a deck of cards.
The pot is shared between the strongest high hand and the strongest qualifying low hand. Hand construction is strict throughout: exactly two cards from your own five, plus exactly three from the board.
Bets, Payouts & Rules
A marker called the button shows who is the nominal dealer for the current hand. The player immediately clockwise from the button posts the small blind, and the next player clockwise posts the big blind. Blind structures vary with the table and the betting format in play.
Each player is then dealt five hole cards, and the first flop card appears face-up on the board straight away. Action begins with the player under the gun, immediately clockwise from the big blind, and moves clockwise from there.
Order Of Play
- Pre-Flop: with five hole cards and one board card already visible, each player may fold, call or raise. The big blind counts as a live bet on this round.
- The Flop: the two remaining flop cards are dealt face-up, completing the first three community cards, and betting resumes with the active player closest clockwise to the button.
- The Turn: the fourth community card is dealt face-up, followed by another round of betting.
- The River: the fifth and final community card is dealt face-up, and a final betting round follows.
- The Showdown: if more than one player remains, the last player to bet or raise shows first. Where there was no bet on the final round, the player immediately clockwise from the button reveals first.
Each betting round continues until all players still in the hand have matched one another. At showdown, the best five-card high hand takes half the pot and the best qualifying low hand takes the other half. Identical hands split their share equally, and when nothing qualifies for low, the best high hand takes the whole pot. The button then moves one seat clockwise for the next hand.
Reading Low Hands
Courchevel Hi/Lo Poker uses an 8 or better qualifier, so a low hand needs five different card ranks of eight or lower to be eligible for the low half. Lows are read exactly as they are in Omaha Hi/Lo, using the Ace to Five or California system.
- Straights and flushes do not count against a low hand.
- Aces always play low when reading a low hand.
- The strongest possible low is the wheel: 5, 4, 3, 2, A.
- Lows are read from the highest card downwards, so a hand topped by a six is a "Six-low" and one topped by a seven is a "Seven-low".
- Close lows are separated by working further down the ranks, which is how a "Six-Four low" is distinguished from a "Six-Five low".
- Sample qualifying lows run from modest holdings such as 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 through to stronger ones like 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 6, 4, 3, 2, A.
Betting Formats
- Limit Courchevel Hi/Lo: structured, pre-set betting. Pre-flop and on the flop, bets and raises match the big blind, then double on the turn and river. Up to four bets are permitted per player per round: bet, raise, re-raise and cap.
- Pot Limit Courchevel Hi/Lo: the minimum bet matches the big blind, and players may bet up to the size of the pot. A raise must be at least as large as any previous bet or raise in that round, and there is no cap on the number of raises.
- No Limit Courchevel Hi/Lo Poker: the minimum bet again matches the big blind, with the upper end set by the chips a player has on the table. Raises must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise, and there is no cap on raises.
Features & Bonus Rounds
The Face-Up First Flop Card
This early card is the defining difference between Courchevel Hi/Lo and 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo. One of the three flop cards is already showing before the opening betting round, so every pre-flop decision is made with a piece of the board in plain view.
The Split Pot And The Scoop
Because the pot divides between high and low, a single holding can be read two different ways. You may use one pair of hole cards for your high hand and a different pair for your low, provided each combination uses precisely two from your hand and three from the board. The rule is firm about two, and no amount of squinting at a third hole card will talk it round.
Since straights and flushes do not damage a low hand, a qualifying low that is also a straight or a flush is a notably strong holding, and one that can take both halves of the pot. That outcome is known as a scoop.
Cash And Tournament Formats
Courchevel Hi/Lo is played across Limit, Pot Limit and No Limit structures, and it also appears in tournament form.
Taste & Feel
This is poker for players who enjoy reading a board carefully rather than quickly. Five hole cards give you plenty to think about, and occasionally plenty to talk yourself out of.
The two-from-hand rule keeps the structure tight, the early flop card shapes the very first decision of the hand, and the split between high and low gives each board two separate stories to follow.
Players who already know Omaha Hi/Lo or 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo will find the shape familiar. Spending a little time with the hand rankings and the low qualifier first tends to make the split-pot side of Courchevel Hi/Lo Poker much clearer.