Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible variation, has increased in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better begins like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of wagering follows in which gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. A further round of betting ensues. After all the players have in turn called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering follows at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants will need to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a few entrants often get flustered. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same approach in almost every poker game.
A lower hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem difficult initially, following a couple of rounds you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of the game with ease. Since you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting collection of wagering choices and seeing that you have many players trying for the high, along with a few shooting for the low hand. If you like a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.