Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A sequence of betting follows where players can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are given out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of betting ensues. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. Another round of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a few players often get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to utilize exactly three cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the strongest hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the identical notion in just about all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t 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 lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the higher hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem complex at the outset, after a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of play with ease. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha High-Low provides an amazing range of betting options and seeing that you have many individuals shooting for the high hand, along with several shooting for the low. If you like a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.