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Omaha Hi-Low: General Overview

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complex but well-loved poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.

Omaha hi-low starts just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of betting ensues in which players can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is called the flop. A further sequence of wagering ensues. After all the players have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants will need to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a few entrants often get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly two hole cards. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the best possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same concept in nearly every poker game.

The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that could be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that 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 eight and lower. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the high hand takes the whole pot.

Although it seems difficult at first, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the fundamental nuances of play with ease. Since you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are in play, Omaha hi-low offers an exciting range of betting options and owing to the fact that you have numerous players shooting for the high hand, as well as several trying for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to participate in Omaha/8.