Omaha Hi/Low: Fundamental Summary
Wednesday, 2. December 2015
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complicated but popular poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible variation, has grown in acceptance so rapidly.
Omaha/8 starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of wagering follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. Another sequence of betting ensues. Once all the players have in turn called or folded, a further card is revealed on the turn. an additional sequence of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.
This is where a few entrants get baffled. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and precisely two hole cards. No more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the strongest hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same approach in just about every poker game.
The lower hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest value 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 value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no lower hand available, the high hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem complicated at the outset, following a couple of rounds you will be able to pick up on the base nuances of the game easily enough. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha hi-low provides an amazing range of betting options and because you have many players trying for the high, as well as several trying for the low hand. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha/8.
Posted in Poker by Natasha