03.18
Omaha Hi/Low: Fundamental Summary
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complicated but popular 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 acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha hi/lo starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of betting follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. A further round of betting ensues. Once all the gamblers have either called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering follows at which point the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some entrants often get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to utilize exactly three cards from 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 "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the identical concept in nearly all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the entire pot.
It may seem difficult at the outset, following a few hands you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of play easily enough. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha Hi-Lo provides an exciting range of betting options and because you have numerous players battling for the high hand, as well as a few trying for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha High-Low.