Omaha Hi-Low: Fundamental Summary
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant variation, has grown in acceptance so amazingly.
Omaha Hi-Lo starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to each player. A round of wagering follows in which players can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. One more sequence of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. an additional round of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will have to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of entrants can get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike 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 hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in just about every poker game.
The lower hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the higher hand wins the entire pot.
While it seems difficult at the start, after a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game simply enough. Since you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming assortment of betting choices and because you have several players trying for the high, along with many battling for the low. If you like a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.
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