Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most difficult but popular poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts just like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A round of wagering ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. A further round of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering happens and then the river card is revealed. The gamblers must attempt to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of entrants can get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must use precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same notion in nearly all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the higher hand wins the entire pot.
It may seem complicated at the outset, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an amazing array of wagering possibilities and owing to the fact that you have several players battling for the high, along with several trying for the low hand. If you like a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to participate in Omaha hi-low.
