Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure variation, has grown in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to each player. A round of betting follows in which players can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. One more sequence of wagering happens. Once all the players have in turn called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting happens and then the river card is revealed. The players will need to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of entrants get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to use exactly 3 cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the strongest hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the identical notion in almost all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no low hand available, the higher hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem complex at first, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental nuances of play easily enough. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better offers an overwhelming assortment of betting possibilities and owing to the fact that you have several individuals battling for the high hand, and a few shooting for the low hand. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.