Omaha Hi-Low: Fundamental Outline
August 28th, 2015 at 7:21
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complex but favored poker variations. It is a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant game, has expanded in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha hi lo begins just like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of wagering follows where players can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is called the flop. Another round of wagering happens. Once all the players have either called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. a further round of betting follows at which point the river card is flipped. The players will have to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where many entrants can get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player must use exactly 3 cards from the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same notion in almost every poker game.
A low hand is more difficult, but really opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as 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 smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.
While it seems complicated at the start, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the fundamental subtleties of play with ease. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 provides an exciting range of wagering options and owing to the fact that you have numerous players trying for the high hand, and many trying for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.