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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has increased in popularity so quickly.

Omaha/8 starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of betting ensues where players can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of wagering happens. After all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. an additional round of betting happens at which point the river card is flipped. The gamblers must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is the point where many entrants get baffled. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must use precisely 3 cards on the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same approach in nearly every poker game.

A lower hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that might be put together, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.

While it seems complex at the outset, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the base subtleties of the game simply enough. Seeing as you have individuals betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha hi lo provides an overwhelming range of betting possibilities and because you have many players trying for the high, as well as a few shooting for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.