Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most difficult but popular poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of betting follows where gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. Another round of betting happens. After all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. a further round of wagering happens and then the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to make the best high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some entrants often get confused. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player has to utilize precisely three cards from the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the strongest hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same concept in nearly all poker games.
A lower hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the entire pot.
While it seems complicated initially, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental nuances of play simply enough. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 offers an overwhelming range of wagering options and owing to the fact that you have many players battling for the high, along with a few battling for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha hi low.