Omaha Strategy

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in acceptance so quickly.

Omaha 8 or better begins just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A round of betting follows where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. One more sequence of betting ensues. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. an additional sequence of betting ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is where many players can get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. No more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two 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 identical concept in nearly every poker game.

A low hand is more complex, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand wins the complete pot.

Although it seems difficult at the start, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the base subtleties of play simply enough. Since you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 provides an overwhelming assortment of betting choices and owing to the fact that you have several players trying for the high hand, as well as several battling for the low. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to play Omaha 8 or better.