Poker

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 complex but well-loved poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant variation, has expanded in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha/8 starts like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. One more round of betting ensues. After all the players have either called or dropped out, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering ensues and then the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a few entrants can get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player has to use exactly 3 cards from the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same approach in just about all poker games.

The low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that could be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the higher hand takes the whole pot.

While it seems complicated at the outset, after a few hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game easily enough. Since you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha hi low offers an exciting array of betting options and owing to the fact that you have numerous players trying for the high hand, as well as several trying for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.