Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant game, has increased in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha Hi-Lo starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of betting ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. A further round of wagering ensues. After all the players have either called or dropped out, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will need to put together the best high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of entrants get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the identical approach in nearly every poker game.
A lower hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the high hand takes the complete pot.
It may seem complicated at the outset, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the base subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 provides an overwhelming array of wagering possibilities and because you have several players battling for the high hand, and several battling for the low. If you love a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha Hi-Lo.
