Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but popular poker games. It is a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has grown in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha hi/low starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which players can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, a further card is flipped on the turn. Another round of betting ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The gamblers must attempt to make the strongest high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of players get confused. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and precisely two hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the best possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same concept in almost all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that might be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Since 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 below. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.
While it seems difficult at first, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of play easily enough. Since you have players wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting assortment of wagering options and owing to the fact that you have several players trying for the high, along with many shooting for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.