Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha Hi-Lo begins like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A round of betting follows where players can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. A further round of betting happens. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of betting happens at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where some entrants can get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must use exactly 3 cards from the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the strongest hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same notion in nearly every poker game.
A lower hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand takes the entire pot.
Although it seems complicated initially, after a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the base nuances of the game with ease. Since 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 offers an exciting array of betting possibilities and owing to the fact that you have several individuals battling for the high, as well as a few trying for the low hand. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha hi lo.