Beginner Omaha Information

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in popularity so rapidly.

Omaha/8 starts like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will have to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a number of players often get flustered. Contrasted to Holdem, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must use exactly 3 cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same notion in nearly every poker game.

A lower hand is more difficult, but really opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the higher hand wins the whole pot.

Although it seems difficult at the outset, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental subtleties of play easily enough. Seeing as you have individuals betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 offers an exciting range of wagering choices and owing to the fact that you have many players trying for the high hand, and several trying for the low. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha/8.