Omaha Hi-Low: Basic Overview
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most difficult but well-loved poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha/8 begins like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A round of betting ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of betting happens. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering ensues and then the river card is revealed. The players will have to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some entrants can get confused. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must use precisely three cards from the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. No more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in almost all poker games.
A low hand is more complex, but really free’s up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the higher hand wins the entire pot.
It may seem complicated at first, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the base subtleties of play with ease. Since you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an amazing range of wagering choices and seeing that you have many players shooting for the high, along with a few battling for the low. If you love a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha hi lo.