Poker Tips Poker Tips for Beginners

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but well-loved poker variations. It's a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant variation, has expanded in popularity so rapidly.

Omaha hi-low starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A round of wagering follows where gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. A further sequence of betting happens. After all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. a further sequence of wagering ensues and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will have to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is where many players get baffled. Unlike Texas Hold 'Em, in which the board can make up everyone's hand, in Omaha hi-low the player has to use precisely 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It's the strongest possible hand out of everyone's, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in nearly all poker games.

The lower hand is more complex, but certainly opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that might be put together, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don't count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no lower hand available, the higher hand wins the entire pot.

While it seems difficult initially, following a few hands you will be able to get the base nuances of play easily enough. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha High-Low provides an exciting assortment of wagering choices and seeing that you have numerous players battling for the high hand, and several shooting for the low hand. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.