Omaha Hi Low: General Overview
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible game, has expanded in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A round of wagering follows where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. One more round of wagering happens. Once all the players have in turn called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another round of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of entrants often get confused. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to use precisely three cards on the board, and precisely two hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 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 best possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the identical concept in nearly all poker games.
A low hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the higher hand wins the whole pot.
Although it seems difficult initially, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of the game with ease. Since you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming assortment of wagering choices and owing to the fact that you have several players trying for the high hand, along with many battling for the low hand. If you love a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to play Omaha 8 or better.