Omaha Hi/Low: Basic Outline
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in acceptance so amazingly.
Omaha Hi-Lo starts just like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A sequence of wagering ensues where players can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. A further round of betting happens. After all the players have either called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. a further sequence of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The players will need to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many players get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player has to use exactly 3 cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the strongest hand out of every player’s, regardless 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 certainly free’s up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand takes the whole pot.
While it seems complicated at the outset, following a few rounds you will be able to pick up on the base subtleties of play easily enough. Since you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha/8 offers an amazing array of betting choices and owing to the fact that you have numerous players trying for the high, as well as a few battling for the low hand. If you like 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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