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 regular Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has expanded in acceptance so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering ensues where gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. One more round of wagering ensues. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants will have to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of players get baffled. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must use precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely two hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the very same concept in almost every poker game.
The lower hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the high hand wins the whole pot.
Although it seems difficult at the outset, after a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game simply enough. Seeing as you have players wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha hi-low offers an exciting assortment of betting possibilities and seeing that you have numerous players trying for the high, as well as many trying for the low. If you love a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha/8.