Omaha Hi Low: Basic Outline
Posted in Omaha on 07/20/2017 10:25 pm by Fernanda
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has expanded in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 begins like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of wagering ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. A further round of betting happens. After all the players have in turn called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will have to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a few entrants get flustered. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player must use exactly three cards from the board, and precisely two hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the strongest hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in nearly all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest 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 higher hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand wins the whole pot.
Although it seems difficult initially, following a couple of rounds you will be able to get the fundamental nuances of the game simply enough. Since you have players wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting array of wagering possibilities and owing to the fact that you have numerous individuals trying for the high hand, as well as several battling for the low hand. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha 8 or better.