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’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant game, has expanded in popularity so rapidly.

Omaha hi-low begins exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A round of betting follows in which players can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. Another round of betting ensues. After all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where many entrants can get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

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

The lower hand is more complex, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any five 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 available, the higher hand wins the complete pot.

Although it seems complex at the start, after a few hands you will be agile enough to get the base nuances of play with ease. Since you have players 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 offers an amazing array of wagering options and seeing that you have several individuals shooting for the high, along with a few battling for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.