Poker Tips

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complicated but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once irrelevant variation, has expanded in acceptance so quickly.

Omaha 8 or better starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. Another round of betting ensues. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. an additional round of wagering follows and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers must attempt to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a number of entrants get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to use precisely 3 cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the very same notion in nearly all poker games.

The low hand is more difficult, but really opens up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower 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 low hand presented, the high hand takes the entire pot.

It may seem complicated at the start, after a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of play simply enough. Since you have individuals betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha/8 offers an exciting array of wagering choices and because you have several individuals battling for the high, as well as many shooting for the low hand. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha hi low.