11.06
Omaha Hi Lo: Basic Summary
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha hi low begins like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A round of betting follows where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. One more round of wagering ensues. After all the players have either called or folded, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting follows and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will need to put together the strongest high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of players get confused. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the identical notion in just about every poker game.
The low hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand takes the whole pot.
Although it seems difficult at first, after a few hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game easily enough. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 offers an exciting range of wagering possibilities and because you have many players shooting for the high, along with several shooting for the low. If you like a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to compete in Omaha High-Low.