Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in popularity so quickly.
Omaha/8 begins just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to each player. A round of betting follows where players can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of betting happens. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, a further card is flipped on the turn. Another round of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The players will have to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some players often get flustered. Contrasted to Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must utilize exactly three cards on the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the best hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same approach in nearly every poker game.
The low hand is more complicated, but really opens up the play. When deciding on 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 made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the higher hand wins the entire pot.
While it seems difficult at the outset, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have individuals betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 offers an exciting array of betting options and because you have many players shooting for the high, as well as a few battling for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha 8 or better.