Poker Secrets Beginner Poker Secrets

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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It's a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the main reason why a once invisible game, has expanded in acceptance so amazingly.

Omaha hi-low starts like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are dealt to each player. A sequence of betting ensues where gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. A further round of betting ensues. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another round of betting ensues at which point the river card is flipped. The players will need to make the best high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is where many entrants often get flustered. Unlike Hold'em, in which the board can make up everyone's hand, in Omaha hi lo the player has to utilize exactly 3 cards on the board, and exactly two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is just what it sounds like. It is the strongest hand out of every player's, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It is the same concept in just about every poker game.

The lower hand is more complex, but certainly free's up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don't count. A low hand is the weakest hand that could 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 worst possible hand. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there is no low hand available, the higher hand takes the entire pot.

It may seem complex at first, following a couple of hands you will be able to get the fundamental subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have people betting 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 options and seeing that you have numerous players trying for the high hand, and many trying for the low hand. If you love a game with a considerable amount of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to play Omaha/8.