Omaha 8, also known as Omaha Eight or Better, or Omaha high low split ('Hi/Lo'), is a split pot game. The best high hand wins half of the pot, and the best low hand wins the other half of the pot. Much like its cousin, Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 or Better involves four hole cards for each player. The object of Omaha 8 is to make the best five-card high hand, and/or best five-card low hand, using exactly two. Omaha Hi Lo 8b Strategy. Omaha Hi Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or Omaha Eight or Better) is a “split pot” version of the popular Omaha poker game. In this version of the game, there are two winning hands in each round: the high winner and the low winner. The high hand winner is the player with the highest value winning hand – the same as in.
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What is Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker?
If you know how to play pot-limit Omaha (or 'Omaha high'), you are well on your way to learning how to play Omaha hi-lo.
As the name suggests, Omaha hi-lo is a 'split-pot' version of Omaha poker in which players compete for both the 'high' and 'low' halves of the pot. Omaha hi-lo is usually played with fixed-limit betting and often turns up in 'mixed game' formats like H.O.R.S.E. (in which Omaha hi-lo is the 'O') or the popular 8-game mix.
You will sometimes see the game referred to simply as 'Omaha 8' or even 'O/8' or more elaborately as 'Omaha hi-lo split-pot-8-or-better.' The name gets styled differently, too, as 'Omaha High-Low,' 'Omaha poker high-low' and so on.
Pot-limit and no-limit versions of Omaha hi-lo are also popular, especially online either as cash games or tournaments.
How to Play Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker
The basic rules for Omaha hi-lo are very similar to pot-limit Omaha. See 'How to Play Omaha Poker' for an overview of how to play Omaha poker, which is itself a variation on regular Texas hold'em.
Just like in pot-limit Omaha, players are dealt four cards in Omaha hi-lo and are required to use two of those four cards in combination with three community cards in order to make a five-card poker hand.
As in hold'em or pot-limit Omaha, if a player bets and everyone folds before the showdown, the player wins the pot without having to show a hand. However, if the final bet is called and there is a showdown, hands are examined to see who has the best 'high' hand and who has the best 'low' hand, with each winning one-half of the pot.
Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Rules
In Omaha hi-lo, the 'high' hand is determined exactly the same way as in hold'em or Omaha 'high' games (like PLO), following traditional hand rankings.
The 'low' hand requires a little more explanation, especially if you are new to split-pot games or hi-lo poker.
First of all, whatever cards you use to make your high hand, that makes no difference when making your low hand. You can use the same two cards, the other two cards, or any combination just as long as you use two cards from your four-card hand plus three of the community cards to build your five-card poker hand.
The rules of Omaha hi-lo is usually played with a 'qualifier' for the low hand, meaning all of the cards making up a low hand have to be ranked eight or lower. That's where the 'split-8-or-better' comes from, a phrase usually added to the name of the game.
A qualifying low hand consists of five unpaired cards ranked eight or lower. For the low hand, the ace is considered a low card (the lowest), while it can also serve as the highest-ranking card in high hands.
Also worth noting — if your lowest five cards make a straight or a flush, that doesn't matter in Omaha hi-lo, you've still got a low hand (if all are ranked eight or lower). In other 'lowball' games like 2-7 no-limit triple draw, flushes and straights hurt you by making your low hand higher, but in Omaha hi-lo that is not the case.
That means a hand consisting of 5-4-3-2-A would be the lowest possible hand — that is to say, the best 'low hand' in Omaha hi-lo. This hand is sometimes called a 'wheel.' The next lowest possible hand is 6-4-3-2-A. The worst low hand that qualifies as a low in Omaha hi-lo would be 8-7-6-5-4.
A good way to figure out which low hand is best is to arrange the hand from highest card to lowest card and then to think of the hand as a five-digit number, with the lowest number being the best (or lowest) hand. Thus 5-4-3-2-A (54321) is better than 6-4-3-2-A (64321), and 6-4-3-2-A is better than 6-5-3-2-A (65321) and so on.
An Example of an Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker Hand
Let's say a hand of Omaha hi-lo goes to showdown with the final board reading 6♣3♠K♦Q♦.
You hold A♣K♠7♦4♣, and your opponent has Q♠J♦4♦2♠.
Your best possible high hand is two pair, aces and kings — using the A♣ and K♠ in your hand pairing them with the ace and king on board, with the queen being a kicker.
Your best possible low hand is 7-6-4-3-A — using the 7♦ and 4♣ in your hand along with the three low cards on the board. Note how you can't use the ace in your hand when making your low hand, since you have to use exactly two cards in your hand and three on the board (and there is an ace on the board).
Your opponent, meanwhile, has you beat both for the high and the low!
Your opponent's best possible high hand is a flush — using the two diamonds in his hand (J♦ and 4♦) and the three diamonds on the board.
Your opponent's best possible low hand is 6-4-3-2-A — using the 4♦ and the 2♠ in his hand along with the three low cards on the board. 64321 is lower than 76431, so your opponent has you beat.
Winning both halves of the pot like this is called a 'scoop' or 'scooping,' which is something you always want to try to do when playing split-pot or hi-lo poker games.
Sometimes in Omaha hi-lo there is no qualifying low hand. This is the case whenever there are less than three unpaired cards ranked eight or lower on the board.
For example, if the board is 9♣K♦A♥4♥J♠, there are only two cards ranked eight or lower on the board (the ace and four), which means it is impossible for anyone to make a low hand. When that happens, whoever has the best high hand scoops the whole pot.
Conclusion
Omaha hi-lo is not difficult to learn, especially if you already know how to play pot-limit Omaha. The strategy can be complicated, though, with a great deal of importance placed on understanding what are strong starting hands (e.g., hands containing an ace with at least one or two low cards, especially a deuce) and not making the mistake of battling for only half of the pot (just the high or low).
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Nl Omaha Hi Lo Rules 2020
US Players and Credit Card, BitCoin Deposits Accepted!
Omaha hi/lo is very similar to Omaha Hi poker. This is a game of who has the highest hand and who has the lowest hand, hence the name Omaha hi/lo poker. The rules of the game are simple and anyone can play online for practice and for free, or play for real money and cash prizes.
Omaha eights or better
Omaha eights or better is the same exact game as Omaha Hi/Lo poker; it's just a different name because of the rules. Eights or better comes in to the Omaha Lo portion of the game when the player is trying to make the lowest hand. This game is also different because it is a type of high-low split. This means the pot is split between the highest and lowest hands. It is helpful to note that the high-low split can be won by the same person.
Nl Omaha Hi Lo Rules Strategy
Learning the Rules of Omaha hi/lo eights or better
First of all, the betting rounds and game play is exactly like Omaha Hi poker. Players pay the blinds and the dealer flops 3 community cards followed by alternating rounds of betting and flopping of the turn card and river card. In this time the player can call or raise the bets, or check and fold cards as well.
Omaha hi/lo poker strategy and tips
The strategy of Omaha hi/lo is when the player makes his or her separate high hand and low hand. The strategy is the same as Omaha hi when making your high hand, just get the best five card hand using only 2 hold cards that are dealt to you and 3 community cards on the table.
When a player is trying to get the lowest hand, the rules state that a player must have eights or better. Not to be confused, eights or better means that cards lower than eight, including ace low, are the better cards. The worse low hand in Omaha low is 8-7-6-5-4 and a player must have this hand or all cards lower than eight to qualify. Another important tip is the best Omaha lo hand is A-2-3-4-5 ace to five, or also known as the wheel. The closer your hand is to the wheel, the more likely you will win the low pot. The pots for the high hand and low hand are split equally so it is strategic to get low and high cards as your hole cards.
Omaha Hi Lo Rules
In fact, the statistical worst starting hand in Omaha hi/lo poker of hole cards that are dealt to the player (not community cards) in Omaha hi/lo poker is four of a kind 2s since a player can only use exactly 2 cards from their hole cards for both the low and high hands. The best starting hand in Omaha hi/lo that is dealt to the player is two aces and two kings, both suited to each other. When you make your best low hands, you can use those aces as low cards to make the lowest hand possible, and at the same time, you have AAKK to use for your high hand. The AAKK starting hand gives the player the best odds in Omaha hi/lo poker.
Free Omaha hi/lo tutorials
This game is best learned by actually playing the game and practicing, just like anything else. Carbon Poker is a poker site similar to Pokerstars, only with a few more poker games plus casino games such as blackjack and roulette where you can play against real people for free or for real money. Once you make an account, a player can then play Omaha hi/lo tutorials for free with practice money against real players or by yourself with the computer. After a few rounds of practice and after you feel confident enough, players can even bet with real money against real people and win real cash!
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Omaha hi/lo match bonus and poker deposit bonuses
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