Poker Tricks

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but popular poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in acceptance so quickly.

Omaha hi lo starts just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows where players can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. Another round of betting happens. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a few entrants often get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must use precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the strongest 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.

A lower 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 can be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the complete pot.

It may seem complicated at first, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of the game simply enough. Since you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an amazing range of betting choices and because you have many players shooting for the high, along with many trying for the low hand. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha hi low.