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

Omaha 8 or better starts just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which players can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. Another round of wagering happens. After all the players have either called or dropped out, an additional card is flipped on the turn. a further sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is revealed. The entrants will need to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where some entrants often get confused. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must use exactly three cards on the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same notion in nearly all poker games.

The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t 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 low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the complete pot.

It may seem complex initially, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic nuances of the game with ease. Since you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better offers an exciting assortment of wagering options and seeing that you have many players shooting for the high hand, as well as many battling for the low. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to participate in Omaha hi/low.