Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in popularity so amazingly.

Omaha/8 begins just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to each player. A round of wagering ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is referred to as the flop. A further sequence of wagering happens. After all the gamblers have either called or folded, an additional card is revealed on the turn. an additional round of betting ensues at which point the river card is revealed. The gamblers will have to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where many players often get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and precisely two hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

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

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

While it seems complicated at first, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to get the fundamental subtleties of play easily enough. Seeing as you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better provides an amazing collection of wagering choices and owing to the fact that you have numerous individuals trying for the high, and a few trying for the low hand. If you prefer a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.