Omaha Strategy

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complicated but popular poker variations. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure game, has increased in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha 8 or better starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A round of wagering follows where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. One more sequence of betting ensues. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of betting ensues and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will need to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where some entrants get confused. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use exactly 3 cards from the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the strongest hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same concept in nearly every poker game.

The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t 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 do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the higher hand takes the entire pot.

It may seem difficult at the start, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental subtleties of play simply enough. Seeing as you have individuals betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better offers an overwhelming assortment of wagering options and because you have several players shooting for the high, along with a few shooting for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.