Omaha Hi-Lo: General Outline
Posted in Poker on 12/09/2015 02:21 am by Izaiah
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 variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible game, has increased in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha/8 begins like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of betting ensues where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. One more round of wagering ensues. After all the players have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where many entrants often get flustered. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player must use precisely three cards from the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the best hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the identical approach in nearly all poker games.
A lower hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that could be put together, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.
While it seems complex at first, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the base subtleties of play with ease. Since you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an amazing assortment of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have many players shooting for the high hand, along with a few shooting for the low. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.