Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant game, has increased in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha hi/lo begins just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A sequence of wagering ensues in which players can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. A further round of wagering ensues. After all the players have either called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of betting ensues and then the river card is revealed. The gamblers must attempt to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a few entrants often get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the identical approach in almost every poker game.
The lower hand is more difficult, but really opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the worst being made up of 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 smaller. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand wins the complete pot.
It may seem complicated at first, after a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the base nuances of the game simply enough. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha/8 offers an exciting collection of betting possibilities and seeing that you have numerous individuals battling for the high, along with a few battling for the low. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.