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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complex but popular poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so rapidly.

Omaha/8 begins like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A sequence of betting follows where gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. A further sequence of wagering happens. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another round of wagering ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The gamblers will need to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where many entrants get flustered. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same approach in just about all poker games.

The low hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the complete pot.

It may seem complicated at the start, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of play with ease. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 provides an overwhelming array of wagering options and owing to the fact that you have many players battling for the high, and a few trying for the low hand. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.