Omaha Information » Blog Archive » Omaha Hi-Lo: General Overview

 

Omaha Hi-Lo: General Overview

[ English ]

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complicated but popular poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has increased in acceptance so quickly.

Omaha 8 or better starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows where players can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. One more round of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further round of wagering happens at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will have to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a few players often get baffled. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same approach in nearly every poker game.

A low hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand wins the whole pot.

It may seem complex at the outset, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the fundamental subtleties of play with ease. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 offers an exciting collection of wagering choices and owing to the fact that you have many players trying for the high hand, as well as a few battling for the low. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to compete in Omaha hi/lo.