Omaha Hi-Lo: Basic Summary

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

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

Omaha/8 starts like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A round of wagering ensues in which players can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. One more round of betting happens. After all the players have either called or folded, a further card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of betting happens at which point the river card is flipped. The players must attempt to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where some entrants often get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must use precisely three cards from the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."

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

The lower hand is more complex, but really opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that might be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the high hand wins the entire pot.

Although it seems difficult at first, after a few rounds you will be able to pick up on the basic nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi/lo provides an exciting assortment of wagering choices and owing to the fact that you have numerous players trying for the high, as well as a few trying for the low. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha/8.