Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible variation, has increased in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha/8 begins like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A sequence of betting follows in which players can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. Another round of betting happens. Once all the players have in turn called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting follows at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will have to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some entrants often get confused. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player must use exactly three cards from the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the same concept in almost every poker game.
A low hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem complicated at first, after a few rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of the game simply enough. Since you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha High-Low provides an exciting array of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have many individuals shooting for the high, and several trying for the low hand. If you love a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.
This entry was posted on October 9, 2016, 4:21 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.