Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but well-loved poker variations. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure variation, has grown in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha 8 or better begins just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to each player. A sequence of betting follows in which gamblers can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of betting happens. Once all the players have in turn called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting ensues and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will have to put together the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where a few players often get flustered. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must utilize precisely 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the strongest hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same notion in almost all poker games.
A lower hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the play. 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 worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand presented, the high hand wins the whole pot.
It may seem complicated at the start, after a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic subtleties of the game easily enough. Since you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi/low provides an overwhelming collection of wagering possibilities and because you have numerous players trying for the high hand, and a few battling for the low. If you like a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha/8.