Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant game, has expanded in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A round of betting follows in which gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. A further round of betting ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. an additional sequence of betting happens at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will have to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some entrants often get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must use exactly 3 cards from the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the best hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same concept in almost every poker game.
The low hand is more difficult, but really free’s up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes do not 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 lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the high hand wins the whole pot.
It may seem complex at the outset, after a few hands you will be agile enough to get the fundamental nuances of the game easily enough. Since you have people wagering 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 array of betting possibilities and seeing that you have numerous individuals trying for the high hand, and many shooting for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.