Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has grown in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha 8 or better begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to each player. A sequence of wagering follows where gamblers can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. Another sequence of betting happens. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to make the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some players can get confused. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. No more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same approach in nearly all poker games.
A lower hand is more complex, but really opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that could be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest 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 higher hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.
It may seem complex at the start, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the basic subtleties of the game with ease. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an amazing assortment of wagering choices and because you have several players trying for the high, as well as a few trying for the low. If you like a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha hi/low.