Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha/8 starts like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which players can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of betting happens. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, a further card is flipped on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering follows and then the river card is revealed. The entrants will need to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some entrants get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the identical notion in just about every poker game.
A low hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand presented, the high hand wins the entire pot.
Although it seems complicated at the start, after a few hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game with ease. Seeing as you have individuals betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an overwhelming array of betting options and because you have many individuals shooting for the high, and a few shooting for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha hi/lo.