Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It is a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has increased in acceptance so amazingly.
Omaha hi low begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A round of wagering follows where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. a further round of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of entrants can get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly two hole cards. 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 how it sounds. It is the best hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in nearly all poker games.
A low hand is more complex, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the worst 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 low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand takes the entire pot.
It may seem difficult at first, after a few hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 offers an amazing array of betting options and owing to the fact that you have several players trying for the high, and several trying for the low hand. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.