Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has increased in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha hi lo starts like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which players can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are handed out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of betting happens. Once all the players have in turn called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. an additional round of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to make the best high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where many players often get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must use precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the strongest hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same notion in almost all poker games.
The lower hand is more difficult, but really opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.
While it seems difficult initially, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of play with ease. Since you have individuals betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming array of betting choices and seeing that you have numerous individuals battling for the high, as well as a few battling for the low. If you like a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.
