Poker Strategies

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complicated but popular poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure variation, has increased in popularity so quickly.

Omaha/8 starts like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. A further sequence of wagering ensues. Once all the players have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. a further sequence of wagering happens and then the river card is flipped. The players must attempt to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a number of entrants often get baffled. Unlike Holdem, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to utilize exactly three cards from the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the identical concept in nearly every poker game.

A lower hand is more difficult, but really opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the higher hand takes the whole pot.

It may seem complex at the start, 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 wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi low offers an exciting collection of betting possibilities and seeing that you have many players shooting for the high hand, and many shooting for the low hand. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha 8 or better.