Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most complex but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant game, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha hi/lo begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of wagering ensues in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. Another round of wagering happens. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering happens and then the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of players can get confused. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must utilize precisely 3 cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might 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 every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the same notion in just about every poker game.
The low hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand takes the complete pot.
While it seems complicated at first, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the fundamental nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming range of wagering possibilities and owing to the fact that you have many players shooting for the high hand, and a few trying for the low. If you prefer a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.