Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but well-loved poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has increased in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 begins just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A round of wagering follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. Another round of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. Another round of wagering happens at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to put together the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some entrants often get flustered. Contrasted to Holdem, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player must use precisely 3 cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the strongest hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the identical approach in nearly all poker games.
A low hand is more complicated, but certainly 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 made, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no low hand available, the higher hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem complicated at the outset, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the base nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming array of betting options and because you have many individuals shooting for the high hand, and many shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to participate in Omaha/8.