Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complex but popular poker variations. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has increased in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha/8 begins like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering ensues where players can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of betting happens. After all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, a further card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering happens and then the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to put together the strongest high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many entrants often get flustered. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly 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 may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the best hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the identical notion in nearly all poker games.
The lower hand is more complex, but really free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that could 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 lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand wins the whole pot.
Although it seems difficult at first, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to get the fundamental nuances of play easily enough. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better offers an amazing assortment of wagering possibilities and because you have many players shooting for the high, as well as a few trying for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha hi/low.
