Omaha Hi Lo: General Overview
Posted in Omaha on 01/14/2026 06:25 pm by Luna
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure game, has increased in popularity so quickly.
Omaha hi/low begins like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A round of betting follows in which players can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. A further sequence of betting happens. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further round of betting follows at which point the river card is flipped. The gamblers will need to make the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of players can get flustered. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must use precisely 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 "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the strongest hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same notion in just about all poker games.
A lower hand is more complex, but really opens up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the entire pot.
While it seems difficult at the start, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the base subtleties of play simply enough. Since you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha hi-low provides an overwhelming range of betting choices and because you have many individuals trying for the high hand, along with many shooting for the low. If you love a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is worth your time to participate in Omaha/8.