Poker Secrets

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible game, has expanded in acceptance so quickly.

Omaha 8 or better starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of wagering follows where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of betting happens. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another round of wagering happens at which point the river card is flipped. The players will need to put together the strongest high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is where some entrants get flustered. Contrasted to Hold’em, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player must use exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in almost every poker game.

A lower hand is more difficult, but really opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that might be put together, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t 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 lower. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the higher hand takes the entire pot.

It may seem complicated at the outset, following a couple of rounds you will be able to get the fundamental nuances of play easily enough. Since you have players wagering for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 offers an overwhelming assortment of wagering possibilities and because you have many players trying for the high, and many trying for the low. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.