Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but favored poker games. It is a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, aims for play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant game, has increased in acceptance so amazingly.

Omaha/8 begins exactly like a normal game of Omaha. 4 cards are handed out to each player. A round of betting ensues in which players can wager, check, or drop out. 3 cards are handed out, this is referred to as the flop. Another round of betting happens. After all the players have in turn called or dropped out, another card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering follows at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants must attempt to put together the best high and low five card hands based on the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a few entrants get baffled. Unlike Texas Hold ‘Em, in which the board can be everyone’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must use exactly three cards from the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Unlike regular Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot could be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the best hand out of everyone’s, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the same approach in almost all poker games.

The low hand is more complicated, but really free’s up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that could be put together, with the lowest value being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the smallest value hand possible. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and below. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no lower hand presented, the higher hand takes the entire pot.

While it seems difficult at the outset, following a few hands you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of the game easily enough. Since you have people wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are being used at once, Omaha 8 or better provides an exciting array of betting choices and seeing that you have several players shooting for the high hand, and several battling for the low hand. If you like a game with all kinds of outs and actions, it is worth your time to compete in Omaha hi/low.