Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible game, has grown in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha hi/low begins exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A sequence of betting follows in which players can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. A further sequence of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering follows and then the river card is revealed. The players will need to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where some players often get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use precisely three cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same notion in just about all poker games.
A low hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the higher hand takes the complete pot.
It may seem complicated at the outset, following a couple of rounds you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of play with ease. Since you have players wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi-low provides an overwhelming array of wagering possibilities and because you have many players shooting for the high hand, and several battling for the low. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.
