Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker variations. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant game, has grown in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha/8 starts just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to each player. A round of wagering ensues where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further sequence of wagering ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will need to make the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a few players often get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must utilize precisely three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the identical notion in nearly every poker game.
A lower hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand takes the complete pot.
While it seems difficult at the start, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to get the base nuances of play with ease. Since you have individuals betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are in play, Omaha/8 offers an overwhelming assortment of wagering possibilities and because you have many players battling for the high hand, and a few battling for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.