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 variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in acceptance so amazingly.

Omaha 8 or better starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A round of betting ensues where players can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. Another round of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers 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 players will have to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where many players get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player must use precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

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

The low hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that could be put together, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. 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 low hand available, the higher hand wins the entire pot.

Although it seems difficult initially, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to get the base subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have individuals wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha/8 provides an amazing range of wagering possibilities and owing to the fact that you have several individuals shooting for the high hand, as well as many trying for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.