Omaha Hi/Low: General Overview
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant game, has increased in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to each player. A sequence of betting follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of betting ensues. After all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of betting follows and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will have to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of entrants get flustered. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to use precisely three cards from the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same concept in just about every poker game.
The low hand is more complicated, but really opens up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that might be put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the high hand wins the entire pot.
While it seems complicated initially, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the base subtleties of play simply enough. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an amazing collection of wagering options and owing to the fact that you have several individuals battling for the high hand, along with a few shooting for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha hi/lo.
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