Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complicated but popular poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha hi low starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A round of wagering follows in which players can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of wagering happens. After all the players have in turn called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The players will need to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a few players often get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must use precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same notion in almost every poker game.
A low hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the higher hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem difficult at the start, after a few hands you will be able to pick up on the fundamental nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 provides an overwhelming array of betting possibilities and owing to the fact that you have many individuals trying for the high hand, along with many battling for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.