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Omaha Hi-Low: Basic Outline

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but well-loved poker games. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant game, has grown in acceptance so rapidly.

Omaha 8 or better starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of betting ensues in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. One more round of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. Another round of wagering happens and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers must attempt to make the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a number of players often get flustered. Contrasted to Texas Holdem, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the best possible hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in almost all poker games.

The low hand is more difficult, but really free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that might be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the higher hand takes the complete pot.

It may seem complex initially, after a few hands you will be agile enough to get the base nuances of the game easily enough. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha/8 offers an amazing collection of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have many players trying for the high, and several trying for the low. If you prefer a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha hi lo.

Posted in Poker.


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