Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant game, has increased in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to every player. A sequence of betting ensues in which players can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. One more sequence of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will need to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where many players often get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must utilize exactly three cards from the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. 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 just how it sounds. It is the best possible hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the very same notion in almost all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the high hand takes the entire pot.
It may seem complex initially, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have players betting 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 offers an amazing range of betting options and because you have many players trying for the high hand, as well as many shooting for the low. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha 8 or better.
