Omaha Hi Lo: Basic Summary
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but well-loved 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 irrelevant variation, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha/8 starts like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of betting happens. After all the players have either called or folded, a further card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering follows and then the river card is revealed. The entrants will need to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a few entrants can get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to use exactly 3 cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the best possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the very same notion in almost all poker games.
A lower hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. 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 lower hand available, the high hand takes the whole pot.
Although it seems complicated at the start, after a few rounds you will be able to get the base subtleties of play with ease. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha hi lo offers an exciting collection of wagering choices and because you have many players shooting for the high, as well as many battling for the low. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.
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