Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha Hi-Lo starts like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A round of betting follows in which players can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. A further sequence of wagering ensues. Once all the players have either called or folded, a further card is revealed on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many entrants get baffled. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower 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, etc. It’s the same approach in almost every poker game.
A low hand is more complex, but really free’s up the action. 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 value being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the high hand takes the entire pot.
Although it seems complicated at the start, after a few hands you will be able to get the basic subtleties of the game easily enough. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an overwhelming assortment of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have several players shooting for the high, along with several battling for the low. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha Hi-Lo.