Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha hi/low starts just like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A round of wagering follows in which players can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. A further round of betting ensues. After all the players have either called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers must attempt to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of entrants often get flustered. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must utilize exactly three cards from the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the best possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same approach in just about all poker games.
A lower hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as 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 low hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the entire pot.
It may seem difficult at the start, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the fundamental nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have individuals betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha hi low offers an amazing range of wagering choices and because you have numerous individuals trying for the high hand, and several trying for the low. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha/8.