Omaha Strategy

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in acceptance so amazingly.

Omaha/8 begins just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to every player. A round of betting ensues in which gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. One more round of betting ensues. Once all the players have in turn called or folded, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting follows and then the river card is revealed. The players will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a few players get confused. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to use exactly three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

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

A lower hand is more difficult, but really free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t 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 lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the high hand takes the whole pot.

It may seem difficult at the start, following a couple of rounds you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of play easily enough. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 offers an exciting collection of wagering possibilities and because you have many individuals trying for the high hand, as well as several battling for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to play Omaha 8 or better.