Omaha Hi-Lo: Fundamental Summary
Posted in Omaha on 09/07/2017 02:31 am by Luna
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant game, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better begins like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A sequence of betting ensues in which players can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of betting ensues. After all the players have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of wagering ensues and then the river card is flipped. The entrants will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some entrants often get baffled. Contrasted to Holdem, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must use exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same notion in nearly all poker games.
A lower hand is more complicated, but really opens up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the entire pot.
Although it seems complicated at the outset, following a few hands you will be able to pick up on the basic nuances of the game simply enough. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are in play, Omaha High-Low offers an amazing assortment of betting choices and owing to the fact that you have many players shooting for the high, and a few trying for the low. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.