Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complex but favored poker variations. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant game, has grown in popularity so amazingly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A round of wagering ensues where players can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. Another round of wagering ensues. Once 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 revealed. The entrants must attempt to put together the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is the point where some entrants get flustered. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to use exactly three cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It is the best hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in nearly all poker games.
A low hand is more complex, but really opens up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that 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 8 and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the complete pot.
It may seem difficult at the start, following a few hands you will be able to pick up on the base subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better offers an exciting range of betting choices and seeing that you have many players trying for the high, as well as many trying for the low hand. If you enjoy a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha 8 or better.