Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure variation, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha/8 begins like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A round of betting ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. A further round of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of betting follows at which point the river card is flipped. The gamblers will need to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where many players get baffled. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player must utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. No more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same notion in nearly every poker game.
A lower hand is more complex, but really opens up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.
It may seem complex at first, following a few rounds you will be able to get the basic subtleties of the game simply enough. Since you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi/low provides an overwhelming collection of betting options and because you have numerous players shooting for the high hand, along with many shooting for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha/8.