Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible variation, has increased in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A round of wagering ensues in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. A further sequence of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. a further sequence of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of entrants can get confused. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to 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 every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same concept in almost all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but really 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 could be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem difficult at first, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of play with ease. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi-low offers an exciting collection of betting possibilities and seeing that you have many players shooting for the high hand, and several battling for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is worth your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.
February 25th, 2016
Kolby
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