Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha/8 begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of betting ensues in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. Another round of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. a further sequence of wagering ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants will have to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where many entrants can get confused. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, where the board can be 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 regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the strongest hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same approach in nearly every poker game.
The lower hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that can be put together, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the complete pot.
Although it seems complicated at first, following a few rounds you will be able to get the fundamental subtleties of play with ease. Since you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha hi/low provides an amazing assortment of betting possibilities and because you have many individuals shooting for the high hand, and several shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha hi/lo.
