Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most difficult but popular poker variations. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha hi/low begins like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A round of wagering ensues where players can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. One more sequence of betting happens. Once all the players have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further round of betting ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The gamblers must attempt to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some players often get baffled. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards from the board, and precisely two hole cards. No more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same approach in almost all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that could be put together, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the high hand wins the complete pot.
It may seem difficult at the start, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of the game with ease. Since you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting assortment of wagering options and seeing that you have many players shooting for the high hand, along with a few battling for the low hand. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha hi lo.
