All About Omaha
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but well-loved poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha hi-low begins just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A round of betting ensues where players can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. One more round of wagering happens. After all the players have in turn called or dropped out, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting happens at which point the river card is flipped. The players must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many players can get flustered. Contrasted to Holdem, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player must utilize exactly three cards from the board, and precisely two hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same notion in almost all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the high hand wins the complete pot.
It may seem complicated initially, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the base nuances of the game simply enough. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better offers an exciting array of wagering choices and seeing that you have numerous players battling for the high, along with several shooting for the low hand. If you like a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.