Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has increased in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering ensues where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. One more round of wagering happens. After all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many players can get baffled. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must use exactly 3 cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike regular 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 hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the same approach in just about every poker game.
The low hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since 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 low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no low hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.
Although it seems difficult initially, after a couple of hands you will be able to get the basic nuances of play with ease. Since you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 offers an exciting collection of wagering possibilities and owing to the fact that you have numerous players battling for the high hand, as well as several battling for the low. If you love a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha 8 or better.