Omaha Hi Lo: Fundamental Summary
Posted in Poker on 11/20/2009 06:21 pm by Valerie
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure variation, has expanded in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha Hi-Lo begins exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A round of betting follows in which gamblers can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. One more round of betting ensues. After all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. an additional sequence of betting ensues and then the river card is revealed. The players must attempt to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some players can get baffled. Unlike Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use precisely three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the best possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same notion in almost all poker games.
A lower hand is more complex, but really free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that could be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the higher hand wins the complete pot.
While it seems difficult at first, after a few rounds you will be able to pick up on the basic nuances of the game simply enough. Since you have people wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an overwhelming range of betting choices and owing to the fact that you have numerous players battling for the high, and several shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha High-Low.