Omaha Hi-Lo: General Outline
Posted in Omaha on 04/02/2016 10:21 am by Ayden
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It’s a variation 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 increased in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha hi low starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A round of betting follows where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. A further sequence of betting happens. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. a further sequence of wagering happens and then the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some players often get baffled. Contrasted to Hold’em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player must use exactly three cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the best possible hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same notion in nearly all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that could be put together, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand takes the complete pot.
Although it seems complicated at the outset, after a few hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of play simply enough. Seeing as you have individuals betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an exciting array of betting options and seeing that you have several individuals shooting for the high hand, and a few trying for the low. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.