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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. 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 irrelevant game, has expanded in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha 8 or better starts exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to every player. A round of betting ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. Another round of betting ensues. After all the players have in turn called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. an additional round of wagering ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The players 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, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player must use precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly 2 cards from their hand. No more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same notion in nearly every poker game.

The low hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that could be put together, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the higher hand wins the entire pot.

It may seem complicated at the start, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental subtleties of play with ease. Since you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at the same time, Omaha High-Low offers an overwhelming range of wagering options and seeing that you have several players shooting for the high, as well as several shooting for the low hand. If you like a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s worth your time to play Omaha/8.