Omaha Hi Lo: Basic Summary
Posted in Poker on 01/04/2016 02:21 pm by Felipe
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complicated but well-loved poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant variation, has expanded in popularity so quickly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of betting ensues where players can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. One more round of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many entrants often get baffled. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to utilize precisely three cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same approach in just about all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the high hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem complicated at the outset, after a few hands you will be agile enough to get the base subtleties of the game easily enough. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an amazing array of betting choices and owing to the fact that you have several individuals shooting for the high, as well as many trying for the low hand. 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 or better.