Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complicated but well-loved poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from all levels of players. This is the primary reason why a once obscure game, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.

Omaha/8 begins just like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A round of wagering follows in which gamblers can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are handed out, this is called the flop. One more sequence of wagering happens. Once all the gamblers have either called or dropped out, an additional card is revealed on the turn. Another round of wagering follows and then the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to put together the best high and low 5 card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is where a number of entrants can get baffled. Unlike Hold’em, where the board can make up everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi/low the player has to use exactly 3 cards from the board, and exactly two hole cards. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It’s the best possible hand out of everyone’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in almost all poker games.

The lower hand is more complex, but certainly opens 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 made, with the lowest value being A-2-3-4-5. Considering that straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The low hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no low hand presented, the higher hand wins the complete pot.

It may seem complicated at the start, following a couple of rounds you will be able to pick up on the basic subtleties of the game with ease. Since you have players betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at the same time, Omaha 8 or better provides an amazing assortment of betting options and seeing that you have numerous individuals shooting for the high hand, and many shooting for the low hand. If you love a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to participate in Omaha/8.