Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but well-loved poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible variation, has expanded in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha Hi-Lo begins like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to every player. A sequence of betting ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. A further sequence of betting happens. After all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering ensues and then the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a few players get confused. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same concept in almost every poker game.
A 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 weakest hand that can be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the higher hand wins the whole pot.
Although it seems complex at the start, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of the game simply enough. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha High-Low provides an amazing array of betting options and seeing that you have numerous players battling for the high, as well as several shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha/8.
