Omaha Hi Lo: General Summary
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure variation, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha/8 begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A sequence of wagering ensues where players can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. Another sequence of wagering ensues. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. an additional sequence of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The players will have to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some entrants get baffled. Contrasted to Hold’em, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must use precisely three cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the best hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the very same approach in almost all poker games.
The low hand is more complex, but really opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since 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 8 and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.
It may seem complex at first, following a few hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of the game with ease. Since you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting range of betting choices and owing to the fact that you have numerous players battling for the high, along with a few shooting for the low hand. If you like a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha High-Low.