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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It’s a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once invisible game, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.

Omaha 8 or better starts like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A sequence of wagering follows in which players can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of wagering ensues. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, a further card is revealed on the turn. a further round of betting happens and then the river card is flipped. The players will have to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a number of players can get baffled. Unlike Holdem, where the board can be every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player must use precisely 3 cards on the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just what it sounds like. It’s the strongest hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same notion in nearly all poker games.

A low hand is more difficult, but really opens up the play. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the high hand wins the whole pot.

It may seem difficult at the start, after a few rounds you will be agile enough to get the base subtleties of play easily enough. Since you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and seeing as so many cards are being used at once, Omaha Hi-Lo offers an overwhelming array of betting possibilities and because you have many individuals battling for the high, and many shooting for the low hand. If you prefer a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha hi lo.