Omaha Hi/Low: Basic Summary
Posted in Omaha on 03/31/2019 05:25 am by Fernanda
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It is a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has grown in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha/8 starts just like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A round of betting ensues in which gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many entrants get confused. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the identical notion in nearly all poker games.
The lower hand is more difficult, but really opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the higher hand wins the entire pot.
It may seem complex at the outset, after a couple of hands you will be able to get the base subtleties of play easily enough. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 offers an overwhelming array of betting options and because you have many individuals battling for the high, along with several battling for the low. If you prefer a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.