All About Omaha
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It’s a game 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 quickly.
Omaha 8 or better begins exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A round of betting ensues in which players can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. Another round of betting ensues. Once all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering happens and then the river card is revealed. The players will have to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of players often get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same concept in nearly all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but really 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 put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the entire pot.
It may seem complicated initially, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of play with ease. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha hi lo provides an amazing array of betting possibilities and because you have several players trying for the high hand, as well as a few shooting for the low. If you love a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.