15
April
Written by Michelle.
Posted in: Poker
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure variation, has expanded in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A round of betting follows where players can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. One more round of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering happens and then the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of entrants can get flustered. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must use exactly three cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "higher 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, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same concept in just about all poker games.
The lower hand is more difficult, but certainly opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that could be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the higher hand takes the complete pot.
While it seems complicated at the outset, after a couple of rounds you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of the game simply enough. Seeing as you have players wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an exciting collection of betting choices and seeing that you have numerous players shooting for the high hand, as well as many shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.
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