HLHLH means High–Low–High–Low–Hand High. It awards five independent points: High and Low on Board 1, High and Low on Board 2, then Hand High from private cards only. Fractional point shares count, and the player with the most points wins the whole pot; tied leaders chop.

How to read HLHLH quickly

Board 1High + LowBoard 2High + LowPrivate cardsHand High

Both boards are dealt in lockstep: six flop cards (three per board), two turns, then two rivers. For each board point, use exactly two private cards and three cards from that board. The two boards never mix.

Point-by-point scoring

1
H1 · Board 1 HighBest standard high on Board 1
2
L1 · Board 1 LowBest qualifying 8-or-better low on Board 1
3
H2 · Board 2 HighBest standard high on Board 2
4
L2 · Board 2 LowBest qualifying 8-or-better low on Board 2
5
Hand HighBest five from private cards only

Evaluator-verified worked example

Board 1
K♠9♠4♠6♣3♦
Board 2
K♦K♣9♦9♣T♦
Ben
A♠Q♠2♦5♣J♥
Sam
K♥9♥7♠4♥2♣
1
H1Ben · spade flush
2
L1Ben · 6-4-3-2-A
3
H2Sam · kings full of nines
4
L2No qualifierBoard 2 contains no three distinct ranks at eight or lower
5
Hand HighBen · ace-high

Diminishing final: Ben 3, Sam 1. Four points are contested; Ben wins the whole pot as sole point leader.

Hand High is not a third board point

Board categoriesExactly 2 private + exactly 3 from that one board.
Private
A♠Q♠
Board 1
K♠9♠4♠
Hand HighBoard cards are forbidden. Compare each player’s best five private cards.
Private only
A♠Q♠J♥5♣2♦

Partial sharing and tied leaders

H1Ben ½ · Sam ½
L1Ben 1
H2Sam 1
L2Ben ½ · Sam ½
HandBen ½ · Sam ½
TotalBen 2½ · Sam 2½Individual points can split; tied overall leaders chop the pot.

What if a low does not exist?

HLHLH supports the same room-level Low scoring choices as HLH. Under Diminishing, each dead low point disappears independently. Under Non-diminishing, a dead L1 transfers to H1 and a dead L2 transfers to H2. If both lows are dead, the weights are H1 = 2, H2 = 2, Hand High = 1.

Common mistakes

  • Mixing cards from Board 1 and Board 2.
  • Treating Hand High as another two-plus-three board hand.
  • Ignoring fractional shares when points tie.
  • Assuming both low points behave identically when only one board qualifies.

Related guides

Review HLH rules, how low hands are ranked, split-pot poker concepts, and the mixed poker games hub.

Play HLHLH on Aurora

Start a room, select HLHLH, and confirm the Low scoring mode before the first hand.

Start a room →