Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in acceptance so amazingly.
Omaha/8 starts like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of wagering ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. a further round of betting follows and then the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a few entrants can get confused. Contrasted to Holdem, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must utilize exactly 3 cards from the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the best possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same concept in nearly every poker game.
A lower hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that 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 8 and below. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.
It may seem difficult initially, after a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the base subtleties of the game easily enough. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi/lo offers an amazing assortment of betting possibilities and owing to the fact that you have several individuals battling for the high, and a few trying for the low. If you prefer a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha hi-low.
