Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A round of betting ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. Another round of wagering happens. Once all the players have either called or folded, a further card is flipped on the turn. an additional round of betting happens and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will need to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some entrants often get baffled. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must utilize exactly 3 cards from the board, and precisely two hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the strongest hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same notion in nearly all poker games.
The lower hand is more difficult, but really free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the worst 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 eight and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand takes the whole pot.
Although it seems complicated at the outset, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of the game easily enough. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming array of wagering options and owing to the fact that you have numerous players trying for the high, along with many battling for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.