15
January
Written by Darwin.
Posted in: Poker
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but favored poker games. It is a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in popularity so quickly.
Omaha hi-low starts like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A round of betting ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or fold. Three cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. A further sequence of wagering ensues. Once all the gamblers have either called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. Another round of betting ensues and then the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is where many entrants get baffled. Contrasted to Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must utilize precisely 3 cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the best possible hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the identical notion in just about all poker games.
The low hand is more complicated, but certainly 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 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 lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no low hand available, the higher hand wins the whole pot.
While it seems complex at the outset, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of play easily enough. Since you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better offers an overwhelming range of betting options and because you have several individuals trying for the high, and several battling for the low. If you love a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha 8 or better.
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