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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in acceptance so amazingly.

Omaha hi low starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to every player. A round of betting follows where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is called the flop. A further sequence of wagering happens. After all the players have either called or folded, another card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of betting ensues and then the river card is flipped. The players must attempt to put together the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where a few players get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

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

A low hand is more complex, but certainly free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the worst being A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an eight and smaller. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.

It may seem difficult at first, after a couple of hands you will be agile enough to pick up on the fundamental subtleties of play with ease. Since you have people wagering for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an overwhelming range of betting possibilities and owing to the fact that you have numerous players battling for the high, as well as several trying for the low. If you love a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is worth your time to participate in Omaha 8 or better.