Omaha Strategy

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but well-loved poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible game, has expanded in acceptance so quickly.

Omaha/8 begins like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A round of betting follows where players can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of wagering ensues. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, an additional card is flipped on the turn. an additional sequence of wagering ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to put together the best high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is where a few players can get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player must use exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the same approach in just about every poker game.

A lower hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the lowest 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 smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.

Although it seems complicated at the outset, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the base subtleties of the game with ease. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 offers an amazing collection of wagering possibilities and owing to the fact that you have numerous individuals trying for the high hand, as well as many shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.