Omaha Hi Low: Basic Overview
March 24th, 2016 at 23:21
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complicated but popular poker variations. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure variation, has grown in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 begins just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A sequence of betting follows where gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is known as the flop. One more sequence of betting happens. After all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of wagering happens and then the river card is revealed. The entrants will have to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some entrants can get baffled. Unlike Holdem, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must use exactly 3 cards from the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. No more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the best hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in nearly every poker game.
The lower hand is more difficult, but really free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.
It may seem complex initially, after a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to get the base nuances of the game with ease. Since you have players wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better provides an amazing array of wagering choices and because you have many individuals shooting for the high, and several shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.