Omaha Hi/Lo: General Overview
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has increased in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha Hi-Lo begins exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to each player. A round of wagering ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. One more round of wagering ensues. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, a further card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of betting follows at which point the river card is flipped. The players will need to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of players often get flustered. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. No 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, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the identical notion in almost all poker games.
A low hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that can be put together, 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 lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand takes the entire pot.
While it seems complicated at first, after a few rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game simply enough. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting collection of betting options and seeing that you have numerous individuals shooting for the high hand, as well as a few battling for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.
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