Omaha Hi Lo: General Summary

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker variations. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant variation, has grown in acceptance so amazingly.

Omaha/8 begins like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of betting ensues where players can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. Another round of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. an additional round of wagering follows at which point the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where many players often get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player has to use exactly 3 cards from the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the best possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same concept in nearly every poker game.

The low hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the higher hand takes the whole pot.

Although it seems difficult at the outset, after a few hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the base nuances of play simply enough. Since you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha hi low offers an amazing collection of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have numerous individuals battling for the high, along with a few shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to participate in Omaha hi low.