Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has expanded in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A round of wagering ensues in which players can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is called the flop. One more round of betting happens. Once all the players have in turn called or folded, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further sequence of betting ensues and then the river card is revealed. The gamblers will need to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where many entrants get flustered. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player must use exactly three cards from the board, and precisely 2 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 exactly what it sounds like. It is the strongest hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same concept in just about every poker game.
A low hand is more difficult, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that could be put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the higher hand wins the whole pot.
While it seems difficult at the start, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic subtleties of the game easily enough. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better offers an amazing collection of wagering choices and owing to the fact that you have many individuals battling for the high hand, and many shooting for the low hand. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha High-Low.