Poker Tricks

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complicated but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha/8 starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A round of wagering ensues where gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. A further sequence of betting ensues. Once all the players have either called or folded, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further round of betting happens and then the river card is revealed. The players will have to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is the point where many players can get flustered. Unlike Holdem, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to utilize exactly three cards on the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

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

The low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that might be made, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the whole pot.

Although it seems complex at the start, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the fundamental nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 offers an exciting assortment of wagering options and seeing that you have numerous individuals shooting for the high hand, along with several battling for the low. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.