Omaha Hi Lo: General Overview
Posted in Poker on 01/18/2026 04:25 pm by Marcus
Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for action from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has expanded in acceptance so quickly.
Omaha 8 or better starts just like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to every player. A round of betting ensues where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are handed out, this is known as the flop. Another sequence of betting ensues. After all the players have either called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. a further sequence of wagering ensues and then the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to make the strongest high and low 5 card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many entrants get confused. Unlike Hold’em, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to use precisely three cards from the board, and exactly 2 hole cards. Not a single card more, no less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot might be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It’s the identical notion in just about every poker game.
A lower hand is more complex, but really free’s up the action. When determining a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. A low hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, 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 low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as does the higher hand. When there is no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem difficult initially, following a couple of rounds you will be able to get the fundamental nuances of play easily enough. Seeing as you have individuals wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha hi-low provides an amazing array of betting options and because you have several players shooting for the high hand, as well as many battling for the low. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha/8.