Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better begins just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of betting follows where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. an additional round of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The players will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of entrants get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to utilize precisely three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower 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 is the same concept in nearly every poker game.
The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that might be made, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem complicated at the outset, after a few hands you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of play simply enough. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 offers an exciting range of betting possibilities and owing to the fact that you have numerous players shooting for the high, along with a few trying for the low hand. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to participate in Omaha/8.
