Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has expanded in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha/8 starts just like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A round of betting follows where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another round of wagering follows and then the river card is flipped. The players will need to make the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a few players get baffled. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards from the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the best hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the identical notion in almost all poker games.
The lower hand is more difficult, but certainly opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that can be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the higher hand wins the entire pot.
Although it seems difficult at the outset, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the base subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an overwhelming assortment of wagering options and seeing that you have many individuals trying for the high hand, and a few battling for the low. If you enjoy a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.