Omaha Strategy

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so rapidly.

Omaha Hi-Lo starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A round of wagering follows in which gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. Another sequence of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another round of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants will need to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a number of players get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly two hole cards. No more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher 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. It is the identical concept in almost every poker game.

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

While it seems complicated at the outset, after a few rounds you will be able to pick up on the basic nuances of play with ease. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha High-Low offers an overwhelming range of wagering possibilities and because you have several players battling for the high hand, and several trying for the low hand. If you love a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.