Omaha Hi/Low: General Overview
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible variation, has expanded in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows where gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering follows at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants will have to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some entrants can get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the best possible hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same notion in just about every poker game.
A lower hand is more complex, but really free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem complex initially, after a few hands you will be able to pick up on the base subtleties of the game with ease. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an overwhelming range of betting possibilities and seeing that you have several players battling for the high, as well as a few battling for the low. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha hi lo.
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