2018
06.03

Omaha Hi Lo: General Outline

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure variation, has grown in acceptance so quickly.

Omaha/8 starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to every player. A round of betting ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of wagering happens. After all the players have in turn called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. a further round of betting follows and then the river card is revealed. The gamblers will need to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a few entrants can get baffled. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "lower 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. It’s the identical notion in almost every poker game.

The lower hand is more difficult, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that 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 takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the high hand takes the complete pot.

Although it seems difficult initially, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental subtleties of the game easily enough. Since you have players 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 because you have many individuals battling for the high, as well as many trying for the low. If you prefer a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha hi/low.