Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant game, has expanded in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha 8 or better begins just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of betting ensues in which players can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. One more sequence of betting ensues. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another round of wagering follows at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers must attempt to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many entrants often get baffled. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player must use precisely three cards on the board, and precisely two hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the strongest hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same notion in nearly all poker games.
A low hand is more complex, but really free’s up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the higher hand wins the complete pot.
It may seem complex at first, after a few hands you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of the game easily enough. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 offers an exciting collection of betting possibilities and owing to the fact that you have many individuals shooting for the high, and many shooting for the low. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha hi/low.
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