Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complex but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure variation, has grown in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha hi lo starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each 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 wagering ensues. Once all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, a further card is flipped on the turn. an additional round of wagering ensues and then the river card is revealed. The players will have to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where many players often get flustered. Contrasted to Hold’em, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best possible hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same notion in almost all poker games.
The low hand is more difficult, but really free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Since 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 eight and lower. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand wins the whole pot.
It may seem complicated at the start, after a few rounds you will be able to pick up on the basic nuances of the game easily enough. Since you have individuals wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha hi low provides an exciting array of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have several players shooting for the high, along with several trying for the low hand. If you love a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.
This entry was posted on August 25, 2015, 10:21 pm and is filed under Omaha. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.