Omaha Hi Low: Fundamental Overview
April 30th, 2016 at 22:21
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but well-loved poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible game, has increased in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha Hi-Lo starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A round of wagering ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. A further round of betting happens. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further round of betting happens at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a number of entrants can get confused. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must use exactly three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the same approach in almost all poker games.
A low hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the higher hand wins the entire pot.
It may seem difficult at first, after a couple of rounds you will be able to pick up on the basic nuances of the game simply enough. Since you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting array of wagering choices and seeing that you have several individuals trying for the high, as well as several shooting for the low hand. If you like a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.