Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha/8 starts like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of betting ensues where players can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. A further round of betting ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. an additional round of betting happens at which point the river card is flipped. The players will have to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where some players often get flustered. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must utilize precisely 3 cards on the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same approach in just about all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that might be put together, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.
Although it seems complex at first, following a few rounds you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as 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 offers an exciting assortment of betting choices and because you have several individuals trying for the high hand, and several battling for the low. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.