Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha 8 or better begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of betting ensues where players can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. A further sequence of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. a further round of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of players get confused. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must utilize exactly three cards on the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the same notion in just about all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the complete pot.
It may seem difficult initially, after a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental nuances of play easily enough. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 offers an amazing array of betting possibilities and because you have many individuals trying for the high hand, and a few battling for the low. If you enjoy a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha hi/lo.
