Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but popular poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant game, has grown in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha/8 starts like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A round of betting ensues where players can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. A further round of betting ensues. After all the players have in turn called or folded, a further card is revealed on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The players will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where many players can get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to use exactly 3 cards from the board, and precisely two hole cards. Not a single card more, no 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 just what it sounds like. It is the strongest hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the identical concept in just about every poker game.
The low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand takes the whole pot.
Although it seems difficult at first, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the fundamental nuances of play simply enough. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 provides an amazing range of wagering options and owing to the fact that you have many players trying for the high, and a few trying for the low. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to compete in Omaha/8.