Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant game, has expanded in acceptance so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better begins just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A round of wagering follows where players can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. One more round of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The players will need to make the strongest high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a few entrants often get baffled. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use precisely three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in just about all poker games.
A lower hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that can be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst 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 just like the high hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.
While it seems complex at the outset, after a few hands you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of play easily enough. Since you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming collection of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have numerous players shooting for the high hand, along with many trying for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha Hi-Lo.
This entry was posted on September 26, 2019, 5:25 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.