Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but well-loved poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering ensues in which players can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. A further sequence of betting happens. After all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of wagering happens and then the river card is flipped. The players must attempt to make the best high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of entrants can get flustered. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. No more, no less. Contrary to regular 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 is the best hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the very same approach in almost every poker game.
The lower hand is more complex, but really opens up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the worst being 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 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand takes the complete pot.
It may seem difficult at the start, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of play easily enough. Since you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 provides an amazing assortment of betting choices and seeing that you have many players battling for the high hand, and a few trying for the low. If you prefer a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha High-Low.