Omaha Hi-Lo: General Overview
June 29th, 2020 at 23:25
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible game, has increased in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha hi lo begins just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. A further sequence of wagering ensues. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of betting ensues and then the river card is revealed. The gamblers must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a few entrants often get baffled. Unlike Holdem, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to utilize precisely three cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the best possible hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same concept in almost all poker games.
A low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t 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 below. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the higher hand takes the entire pot.
It may seem complicated at first, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the fundamental subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have individuals betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 provides an overwhelming array of betting possibilities and seeing that you have numerous players battling for the high hand, along with a few battling for the low. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.