Poker Tricks

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

Omaha 8 or better begins just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows where gamblers can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. Another round of betting ensues. After all the players have in turn called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering ensues and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will have to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where some entrants often get confused. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must utilize precisely three cards on the board, and precisely two hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the best hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same concept in almost every poker game.

The lower hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Because 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 eight and below. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the higher hand wins the complete pot.

While it seems complex at first, following a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of the game simply enough. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 offers an overwhelming collection of betting possibilities and because you have several players shooting for the high hand, along with several shooting for the low. If you prefer a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha hi/low.