Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most difficult but popular poker games. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites action from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once obscure game, has increased in acceptance so rapidly.

Omaha hi low starts like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are handed out to every player. A round of wagering follows where players can wager, check, or fold. 3 cards are given out, this is called the flop. Another sequence of betting happens. Once all the players have either called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another round of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to make the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a few entrants get confused. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha Hi-Lo the player must utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and exactly two hole cards. Not a single card more, not a single card less. Contrary to regular Omaha, there are two ways a pot can be won: the "higher hand" or the "lower hand."

A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It is the best possible hand out of everyone’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the identical concept in almost every poker game.

The low hand is more difficult, but certainly opens up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that might be made, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The low hand wins half of the pot, as does the high hand. When there is no low hand presented, the high hand takes the whole pot.

It may seem complicated at the start, after a few hands you will be able to pick up on the base nuances 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 in play, Omaha 8 or better provides an amazing assortment of betting choices and owing to the fact that you have several players trying for the high hand, and many shooting for the low. If you love a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha 8 or better.