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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly seen as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure game, has increased in acceptance so amazingly.

Omaha 8 or better starts just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A round of betting follows in which players can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is referred to as the flop. A further round of wagering happens. Once all the players have either called or folded, a further card is revealed on the turn. Another round of wagering follows and then the river card is revealed. The entrants will need to make the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a number of entrants often get confused. Contrasted to Hold’em, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the strongest hand out of every player’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same approach in nearly all poker games.

The lower hand is more complex, but certainly opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the lowest being 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 low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the higher hand wins the whole pot.

It may seem complex at the outset, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the base subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have individuals betting for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha hi/lo offers an amazing range of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have numerous individuals battling for the high, and many shooting for the low. If you love a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.