Omaha Strategy

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant game, has grown in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha/8 starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to each player. A sequence of wagering follows where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of betting follows at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to make the best high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is the point where many entrants often get confused. 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 precisely 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the strongest possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same approach in nearly all poker games.

A low hand is more difficult, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the worst hand that could be made, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand takes the whole pot.

While it seems complex at the outset, following a couple of rounds you will be able to get the base subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha/8 offers an overwhelming range of wagering possibilities and because you have many players trying for the high, along with 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 compete in Omaha 8 or better.