Omaha Hi/Lo: General Summary
March 12th, 2016 at 11:21
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but well-loved poker games. It is a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure game, has grown in acceptance so amazingly.
Omaha hi/lo begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A round of betting follows in which players can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of wagering happens. Once all the players have in turn called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. a further round of wagering ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The players will have to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some players can get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the best hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the identical notion in nearly all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not 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 smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand wins the complete pot.
While it seems difficult at the outset, after a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the fundamental nuances of play easily enough. Since you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better offers an amazing collection of wagering choices and owing to the fact that you have several players trying for the high, as well as many battling for the low hand. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.