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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 popular poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once irrelevant variation, has grown in popularity so quickly.

Omaha 8 or better begins like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A sequence of betting ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is known as the flop. A further sequence of wagering ensues. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, a further card is flipped on the turn. Another round of betting ensues and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers will need to put together the best high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where some players can get confused. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player must utilize precisely three cards on the board, and precisely 2 cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

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

The low hand is more complex, but certainly opens up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the worst hand that might be made, with the lowest value 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 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no lower hand presented, the high hand wins the complete pot.

It may seem complex at the start, after a few hands you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of play with ease. Since you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha/8 provides an amazing collection of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have several players trying for the high hand, as well as a few shooting for the low. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.