Omaha

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in acceptance so quickly.

Omaha 8 or better starts just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of wagering ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. Another round of wagering happens. Once all the players have in turn called or dropped out, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting happens at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers must attempt to make the best high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is where a few players get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to use exactly 3 cards from the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the best possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the very same notion in almost all poker games.

The low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that might be made, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no low hand available, the higher hand takes the whole pot.

It may seem difficult at the outset, after a few rounds you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of the game easily enough. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better offers an overwhelming range of betting choices and because you have numerous players battling for the high hand, along with several battling for the low hand. If you like a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.