08.14
Omaha Hi-Low: Basic Overview
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complex but favored poker variations. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant variation, has grown in acceptance so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better begins just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A sequence of betting ensues in which players can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. One more round of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, a further card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of players can get baffled. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must use exactly 3 cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the best possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same notion in almost every poker game.
The lower hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.
While it seems complex at the outset, after a couple of rounds you will be able to get the base nuances of the game with ease. Since you have individuals betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming collection of betting possibilities and seeing that you have several players battling for the high, as well as a few trying for the low hand. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.