Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant variation, has expanded in popularity so quickly.
Omaha hi/low begins exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to each player. A round of wagering follows where players can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is called the flop. One more round of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will have to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of entrants get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must use precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. No more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same notion in nearly all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but really opens up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the high hand takes the complete pot.
It may seem complex at the start, after a few rounds you will be able to get the basic subtleties of play with ease. Since you have people 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 provides an exciting assortment of wagering options and seeing that you have several individuals trying for the high, and many shooting for the low. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.
This entry was posted on November 5, 2015, 2:21 am 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.