Omaha Hi-Lo: Basic Outline
Posted in Poker on 03/10/2025 05:25 am by Marley
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 is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha hi lo begins exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A round of betting follows in which players can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. One more sequence of betting happens. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of players can get baffled. Contrasted to Holdem, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the strongest hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the very same concept in just about all poker games.
The lower hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that might be made, with the lowest value being made up of 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 five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no low hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.
Although it seems difficult initially, following a few hands you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of play simply enough. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha Hi-Lo offers an amazing collection of betting choices and seeing that you have many players shooting for the high hand, and many trying for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha 8 or better.