Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible variation, has expanded in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha hi low begins exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows where players can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. One more sequence of wagering happens. Once all the players have either called or folded, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The players will need to make the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a few players get flustered. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to utilize exactly three cards on the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two 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, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the same approach in almost every poker game.
The lower hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Since 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 lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no low hand available, the higher hand wins the whole pot.
It may seem difficult at first, following a few hands you will be able to get the basic nuances of the game easily enough. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an overwhelming assortment of betting options and owing to the fact that you have many individuals 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 not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha hi/low.
