Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha/8 begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of wagering ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. Another round of wagering ensues. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, a further card is flipped on the turn. an additional sequence of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to make the strongest high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some entrants often get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same approach in almost all poker games.
A lower hand is more difficult, but certainly opens up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the lowest being 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 five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the higher hand wins the complete pot.
It may seem complex at the start, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of the game easily enough. Since you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an amazing range of betting options and seeing that you have numerous players battling for the high, and several battling for the low. If you enjoy a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.