Omaha Hi Lo: Basic Outline
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It is a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible variation, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha/8 starts like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A round of wagering ensues where gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. One more sequence of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering ensues and then the river card is revealed. The entrants will need to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of players can get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. No more, no less. Unlike 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’s the best possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same approach in almost every poker game.
A low hand is more difficult, but certainly opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might 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 low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand wins the complete pot.
While it seems complicated at the outset, after a couple of hands you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of the game easily enough. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are in play, Omaha/8 provides an amazing assortment of betting options and seeing that you have many players shooting for the high hand, as well as many trying for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha/8.