Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but popular poker variations. It is a variation 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 grown in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha 8 or better starts like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to each player. A round of betting follows in which players can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. Another sequence of betting ensues. After all the players have either called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. an additional round of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will need to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some players get confused. Unlike Holdem, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player must use precisely 3 cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best possible hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same approach in just about all poker games.
The low hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the lowest value 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 low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the higher hand wins the complete pot.
Although it seems complicated at the start, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game with ease. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi-low offers an exciting array of betting choices and because you have numerous players battling for the high hand, as well as a few trying for the low hand. If you like a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.