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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant game, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha Hi-Lo starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of betting ensues in which players can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. A further sequence of wagering ensues. Once all the players have either called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering happens and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will have to make the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some players can get confused. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the strongest hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the identical concept in just about all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the higher hand wins the complete pot.
Although it seems complicated at the start, after a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic subtleties of play with ease. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming collection of betting options and seeing that you have many individuals shooting for the high hand, as well as many trying for the low. If you enjoy a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.