Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure variation, has increased in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of wagering follows in which players can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is known as the flop. One more round of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. a further sequence of wagering happens and then the river card is revealed. The entrants will have to make the strongest high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where some players can get baffled. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to use precisely 3 cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same approach in nearly all poker games.
The lower hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the high hand takes the complete pot.
It may seem complicated at first, following a few hands you will be able to pick up on the basic nuances of the game easily enough. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha/8 offers an overwhelming assortment of wagering options and owing to the fact that you have several individuals shooting for the high hand, along with a few battling for the low hand. If you like a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha hi/low.
