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 complicated but well-loved poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant variation, has expanded in popularity so rapidly.

Omaha/8 begins like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of betting follows in which players can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. A further sequence of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further round of wagering follows at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers must attempt to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is where a few players can get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player must use precisely 3 cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just 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 identical concept in just about all poker games.

A lower hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.

It may seem complicated at the start, after a few hands you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of play simply enough. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha hi/low provides an amazing array of betting possibilities and because you have numerous individuals battling for the high, as well as a few battling for the low. If you enjoy a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.