Omaha Hi-Lo: Basic Overview
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible variation, has increased in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha/8 starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A sequence of betting follows where players can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. One more round of betting ensues. Once all the players have in turn called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. Another round of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a few entrants often get confused. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use exactly three cards from the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the identical notion in just about 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. A low hand is the worst hand that might be put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the higher hand takes the complete pot.
Although it seems difficult at first, after a few hands you will be able to pick up on the fundamental subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have individuals betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an amazing collection of betting possibilities and seeing that you have many players trying for the high hand, as well as several shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.
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