Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most difficult but well-loved poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha/8 starts just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of betting ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. One more round of betting ensues. After all the players have either called or folded, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of betting ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will have to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a few players can get flustered. Unlike Texas 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 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same concept in just about all poker games.
The low hand is more difficult, but really opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Because 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 below. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.
It may seem difficult at first, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of the game with ease. Since you have individuals wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting assortment of wagering options and seeing that you have several players shooting for the high hand, as well as several trying for the low hand. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha Hi-Lo.