Omaha Secrets

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but popular poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha 8 or better starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to each player. A round of wagering ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is called the flop. Another round of betting happens. After all the players have either called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of wagering happens at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers must attempt to make the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a few entrants get flustered. Unlike Texas Holdem, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must utilize precisely three cards on the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. No more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the strongest hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same approach in almost every poker game.

A low hand is more difficult, but certainly free’s up the play. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the higher hand wins the whole pot.

It may seem difficult initially, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better offers an exciting array of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have several players battling for the high, along with many trying for the low. If you prefer a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha hi/lo.