Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant game, has expanded in popularity so rapidly.
Omaha hi/lo starts just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A round of betting follows where players can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. One more round of wagering ensues. Once all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further sequence of betting follows and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will need to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a few entrants often get baffled. Unlike Holdem, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must use exactly 3 cards from the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot can 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, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same approach in nearly every poker game.
A lower hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that can be put together, with the lowest value 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 lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the higher hand wins the entire pot.
While it seems difficult initially, after a few hands you will be able to get the basic subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha/8 provides an exciting collection of wagering choices and seeing that you have several players battling for the high, and a few shooting for the low. If you enjoy a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha Hi-Lo.