Omaha Hi-Low: General Summary
Posted in Omaha on 10/17/2015 01:21 am by Ayden
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complicated but popular poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in popularity so quickly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A round of betting follows where players can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. A further round of betting happens. Once all the players have in turn called or dropped out, a further card is revealed on the turn. a further round of wagering ensues and then the river card is flipped. The players will need to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a few entrants can get confused. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player must utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the best possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same approach in almost every poker game.
A low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that might be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the high hand wins the whole pot.
Although it seems complicated at first, following a couple of hands you will be able to pick up on the base subtleties of play with ease. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha hi/lo provides an exciting assortment of betting possibilities and owing to the fact that you have many individuals shooting for the high hand, and a few shooting for the low. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to play Omaha/8.