Poker

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but well-loved poker variations. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.

Omaha/8 starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of wagering ensues in which players can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. Another round of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another round of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers must attempt to put together the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is the point where some entrants get confused. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the best possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same concept in almost all poker games.

A lower hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the action. When determining 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. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the higher hand wins the whole pot.

Although it seems complex initially, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the basic subtleties of play with ease. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting assortment of betting choices and because you have numerous players shooting for the high, and a few shooting for the low hand. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha 8 or better.