Omaha Hi/Lo, or also known as Omaha 8 or better, is the second form of poker that comprises HORSE. Omaha 8 is a split pot poker game, meaning at the end of the hand, the pot may be split. It is a much different poker game then No Limit Hold Em, in fact many No Limit Hold Em players say their worst poker game is Omaha 8. Every hand of Omaha 8 has a best high hand and hands may also have a low hand. If there was a qualifying low hand, the high hand and the low hand would split the pot.
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If the same player had both the best high hand and the best low hand, he would “scoop” the whole pot. A low hand is any hand with 5 cards that rank 8 or low, without a card being duplicated. The best low hand is a-2-3-4-5, which is known as a wheel. In Omaha 8, every player is dealt 4 cards. The hand then plays out exactly like No Limit Hold Em. The only different then between Omaha 8 and No Limit Hold Em is that in Omaha 8, players MUST use 2 cards to make their best high hand and must use 2 cards to make a low hand. In other words, if a player has A-2-2-3 on a board of 10-J-Q-K-2, the player does not have a straight because he cannot use 2 cards to make a straight. Instead, his best high hand would be a set of 2’s, since he would use 2 2’s from his hand.
HOW TO PLAY
The goal of Omaha 8 is to play hands that can win both the low half of the pot and the high half of the pot. Imagine a board of 5-4-3-K-Q with no 3 cards of the same suit, what would be the best possible hand? A-2-6-7 would be the best. The A-2 would be used to make the best low hand, and the 6-7 would be used to make the best high hand.
Good starting hands in Omaha 8 include hands like A-A-2-3 and A-2-3-4 or A-A-K-2. The common strategy is to pick hands that are aiming towards the low half and accidentally win the high half as well. For example, if a player plays a hand like A-K-Q-J, there is no way he can win the low half of the pot, if there is one. It is impossible. But if he plays a hand like A-3-5-7, he may hit a lucky flop like 2-4-6 and have the best high hand and low hand.
