Omaha

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha 8 or better begins just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A round of betting ensues in which gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or folded, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting follows and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers 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 some players can get baffled. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same approach in almost all poker games.

The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that could be put together, with the worst 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 five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The low hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the higher hand takes the whole pot.

Although it seems difficult initially, following a few hands you will be able to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game easily enough. Since you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha/8 provides an exciting range of betting possibilities and because you have many individuals battling for the high, as well as several battling for the low. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to participate in Omaha hi/low.