Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant game, has expanded in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha/8 starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of wagering ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is known as the flop. One more round of betting ensues. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The players will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some entrants get flustered. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to use precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely two hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the same notion in nearly every poker game.
A lower hand is more difficult, but really opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the high hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem complicated at the outset, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of play with ease. Since you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha hi/lo provides an exciting range of wagering options and owing to the fact that you have many individuals shooting for the high, and a few trying for the low. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha hi/low.