Omaha Hi Lo: General Overview


Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but well-loved 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 irrelevant game, has increased in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha/8 starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A round of betting ensues where gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. A further round of betting happens. Once all the players have either called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. an additional sequence of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The players will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a number of entrants often get confused. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to use precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely two hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is exactly 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 same approach in almost all poker games.

The low hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that might be put together, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that 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 smaller. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the high hand takes the entire pot.

It may seem complex at the start, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the base nuances of play easily enough. Seeing as you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting collection of wagering options and seeing that you have many individuals battling for the high, as well as several shooting for the low. If you love a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.

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