Omaha Hi Lo: Basic Overview
March 23rd, 2016 at 21:22
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better begins just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A round of wagering ensues where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. One more round of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting happens at which point the river card is revealed. 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 players often get confused. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to use precisely three cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same notion in nearly all poker games.
A lower hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the whole pot.
Although it seems difficult at first, after a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the base subtleties of the game easily enough. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha/8 offers an amazing range of betting choices and owing to the fact that you have many players shooting for the high, along with a few trying for the low. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.