Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is frequently seen as one of the most complex but favored poker variations. It’s a variation that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has grown in acceptance so amazingly.

Omaha 8 or better starts like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to each player. A round of betting follows where gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. One more round of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. Another round of wagering follows and then the river card is flipped. The entrants will have to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a few entrants often get flustered. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player has to use exactly 3 cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

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

A lower hand is more difficult, but really opens up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that can be made, with the worst 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 lower hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there’s no low hand available, the higher hand wins the whole pot.

It may seem difficult at the outset, following a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic subtleties of play with ease. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha hi low provides an amazing range of betting choices and owing to the fact that you have several players shooting for the high hand, and several battling for the low. If you like a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha High-Low.