Poker Tips

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant game, has increased in acceptance so rapidly.

Omaha hi low starts like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to each player. A round of wagering follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. Another round of wagering happens. After all the players have in turn called or folded, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting ensues and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a few entrants get flustered. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards on the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the strongest hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the identical notion in almost all poker games.

The lower hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that might be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that 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 lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand wins the whole pot.

While it seems complicated initially, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the fundamental nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi low offers an overwhelming assortment of betting possibilities and because you have several individuals battling for the high hand, and many shooting for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.