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 favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant game, has grown in acceptance so quickly.

Omaha/8 begins exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A round of betting follows where players can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. Another round of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, a further card is flipped on the turn. a further sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where many players often get flustered. Unlike Holdem, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must use exactly 3 cards from the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. No more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It is the best hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same notion in nearly all poker games.

A lower hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the higher hand takes the entire pot.

It may seem complicated at first, after a couple of rounds you will be able to get the fundamental subtleties of play with ease. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha Hi-Lo provides an amazing array of betting options and because you have several players shooting for the high hand, along with several battling for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.