Omaha Strategy

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure variation, has grown in acceptance so amazingly.

Omaha 8 or better begins like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A sequence of betting ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. One more round of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where some players can get baffled. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to use precisely 3 cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the best possible hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same approach in almost all poker games.

A lower hand is more difficult, but really free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no lower hand available, the higher hand takes the entire pot.

It may seem complex initially, after a couple of hands you will be able to get the base subtleties of play easily enough. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 offers an exciting assortment of betting choices and because you have numerous players shooting for the high, along with many trying for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.