Omaha Hi/Lo: Basic Outline
Friday, 2. October 2015
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant game, has increased in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A round of betting ensues in which players can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. A further sequence of betting ensues. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of betting happens and then the river card is revealed. The players will need to make the strongest high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a few players often get baffled. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to use precisely three cards from the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. No more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the strongest hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same notion in just about every poker game.
The lower hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.
Although it seems complex at the start, following a few rounds you will be able to pick up on the basic nuances of the game easily enough. Since you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 provides an amazing assortment of wagering options and owing to the fact that you have many players trying for the high, along with a few 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 participate in Omaha hi lo.
Posted in Omaha by Brennen