Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant game, has expanded in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A round of betting follows in which players can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, a further card is revealed on the turn. a further round of betting ensues and then the river card is revealed. The entrants will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many entrants can get baffled. Contrasted to Hold’em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must utilize precisely three cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may 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 every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same concept in almost all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that might be put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the high hand takes the entire pot.
It may seem difficult at the start, after a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to get the base nuances of play simply enough. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming collection of betting options and owing to the fact that you have many individuals trying for the high hand, and several trying for the low. If you prefer a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha hi low.