Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but well-loved poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha 8 or better starts like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A round of betting follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. A further round of wagering ensues. After all the players have in turn called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The gamblers will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of entrants get confused. Unlike Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must use exactly three cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the best possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same approach in nearly every poker game.
The lower hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the higher hand wins the whole pot.
It may seem complex at the start, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the base subtleties of play easily enough. Since you have players 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 offers an exciting assortment of wagering choices and owing to the fact that you have many players battling for the high hand, along with many battling for the low hand. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.
