Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is commonly viewed as one of the most complicated but favored poker games. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.

Omaha/8 begins like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of wagering follows in which players can bet, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is called the flop. One more round of betting ensues. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or folded, an additional card is flipped on the turn. an additional round of wagering ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to make the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a number of players can get flustered. Contrasted to Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must use precisely 3 cards on the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

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

The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be made, with the lowest being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest value hand possible. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the complete pot.

It may seem complicated at the start, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the basic subtleties of play with ease. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha hi lo provides an exciting assortment of betting options and owing to the fact that you have several individuals battling for the high, along with several trying 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 compete in Omaha/8.