Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible game, has grown in acceptance so amazingly.
Omaha Hi-Lo starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of betting follows where players can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. a further sequence of wagering ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of players often get baffled. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must use precisely three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same notion in nearly every poker game.
The low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that could be made, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the higher hand takes the complete pot.
Although it seems difficult at the start, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic subtleties of the game with ease. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an amazing collection of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have many players trying for the high, and a few 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-Lo.
