Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once invisible game, has grown in popularity so quickly.
Omaha hi/low begins like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A round of wagering ensues where players can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of betting happens. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, a further card is revealed on the turn. an additional round of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The gamblers will need to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where a number of players can get baffled. Unlike Holdem, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to use exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card 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 how it sounds. It is the strongest hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the very same notion in just about every poker game.
The lower hand is more complex, but really free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no lower hand available, the higher hand wins the whole pot.
It may seem complicated at first, after a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental subtleties of the game easily enough. Since you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an amazing collection of betting options and seeing that you have many individuals battling for the high, and several shooting for the low. If you enjoy a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha 8 or better.