Poker Strategy

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most complex but well-loved poker games. It’s 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 increased in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha Hi-Lo begins exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of betting follows where gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is known as the flop. A further sequence of betting happens. After all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. a further sequence of betting happens and then the river card is revealed. The players will have to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is where some players often get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to utilize precisely three cards on the board, and exactly two hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the best possible hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the very same approach in nearly every poker game.

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

While it seems complex at first, after a few hands you will be agile enough to get the fundamental subtleties of play easily enough. Seeing as you have people wagering for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 offers an amazing array of betting possibilities and seeing that you have numerous players trying for the high, along with many shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha hi/low.