Poker Strategy

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha 8 or better starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A sequence of wagering ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. One more round of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of wagering ensues and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is the point where some entrants can get flustered. Unlike Holdem, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must use exactly 3 cards from the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might 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. It is the same notion in almost every poker game.

The low hand is more complicated, but really opens up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that could be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t 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 low hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the high hand takes the entire pot.

While it seems difficult at the start, following a couple of rounds you will be able to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi/low offers an amazing assortment of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have numerous individuals shooting for the high hand, and many trying for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha 8 or better.