Omaha Hi Lo: General Outline
Posted in Omaha on 02/22/2016 01:21 pm by Luna
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but well-loved poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible variation, has increased in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. A further sequence of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, a further card is flipped on the turn. a further round of wagering ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants will have to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of entrants get confused. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to utilize precisely three cards on the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same concept in almost every poker game.
A low hand is more difficult, but certainly opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the worst being made up of 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 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the higher hand wins the entire pot.
Although it seems complex at the start, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have individuals betting for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha/8 provides an amazing array of betting choices and because you have many individuals trying for the high, along with a few battling for the low. If you like a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.