Omaha Hi Lo: Fundamental Overview
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but well-loved poker games. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible game, has expanded in popularity so quickly.
Omaha hi/low starts like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is called the flop. One more round of betting happens. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting follows and then the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a few players can get baffled. Contrasted to Hold’em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to utilize precisely three cards from the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the very same concept in almost every poker game.
The low hand is more complicated, but really opens up the action. 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. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the higher hand takes the whole pot.
Although it seems complicated at the outset, after a few hands you will be able to get the basic nuances of play with ease. Since you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha hi/lo offers an overwhelming range of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have several players trying for the high hand, along with many trying for the low. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.
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