Omaha Strategy

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

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

Omaha/8 starts like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A round of wagering follows where players can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of wagering happens. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further round of wagering follows and then the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where some entrants can get flustered. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the best possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same concept in almost every poker game.

A lower hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the play. 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 worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the higher hand wins the complete pot.

It may seem complex at the start, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the basic subtleties of the game simply enough. Since you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi lo provides an amazing collection of wagering possibilities and because you have several individuals trying for the high, as well as a few shooting for the low. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha 8 or better.