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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most complicated but popular poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha/8 starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of betting follows where gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. Another round of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of wagering ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The players must attempt to put together the best high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a few entrants often get baffled. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the best hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same approach in almost all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the higher hand wins the whole pot.
Although it seems difficult at the outset, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of play simply enough. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better offers an amazing assortment of wagering choices and seeing that you have many players trying for the high, along with many trying for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.
