Omaha Hi-Low: General Overview
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has grown in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of wagering follows in which players can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. Another round of wagering ensues. Once all the players have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering follows and then the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where some players get flustered. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must utilize exactly three cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the strongest possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same notion in just about all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. 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 worst being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand takes the complete pot.
While it seems complicated at the start, after a few hands you will be agile enough to get the fundamental nuances of play simply enough. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better offers an amazing array of betting choices and because you have many individuals shooting for the high, as well as several battling for the low. If you like a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha 8 or better.
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