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Omaha Hi-Low: General Outline

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure variation, has grown in acceptance so rapidly.

Omaha/8 begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, a further card is flipped on the turn. a further sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is the point where many entrants often get flustered. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to utilize exactly three cards on the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. No more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same approach in nearly all poker games.

The low hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that could be made, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand wins the complete pot.

Although it seems complicated at the outset, following a couple of rounds you will be able to get the base nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting array of wagering options and because you have several players trying for the high hand, along with many trying for the low. If you enjoy a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha High-Low.