Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of wagering ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. Another sequence of betting ensues. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. Another round of betting happens and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will need to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a few entrants often get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the strongest hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same concept in nearly all poker games.
A lower hand is more complex, but certainly opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the lowest value being 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 lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the higher hand wins the entire pot.
Although it seems difficult at first, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental subtleties of play easily enough. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha/8 offers an overwhelming assortment of wagering choices and seeing that you have numerous players shooting for the high, as well as several battling for the low. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.
