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Omaha Hi-Lo (8 or Better)
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Omaha Hi/Lo: IntroductionOmaha Hi/Lo, or Omaha 8 or Better as it's often called, is similar to ‘regular' Omaha, or Omaha High. There are 2 common forms of Omaha Hi/Lo games: Limit, which features an agreed betting limit for each round and each game, and Pot Limit, where players can bet the money in the pot.Generally, Omaha 8 or Better is played with a single deck of cards without the jokers. In Omaha Hi/Lo games a "dealer button" is commonly used for each hand to designate the dealer and this rotates clockwise to the next active player after each hand. Betting follows the same procedures and round structure as Omaha.
Omaha Hi/Lo-Basic Rules and Procedures
The unique feature of Omaha Hi-Lo, however, is that the pot is split into "high" and "low" sides. The best hand automatically wins the high side of the pot, so there's no need to qualify. The best hand could also win the low side of the pot too, but this is where it gets a little more complex. Players have to qualify to be in with a chance of winning the low side of the pot, hence the name of the game, Omaha 8 or Better.
Omaha Hi/Lo-Qualifying Hands
Where to Play
In Omaha Hi/Lo, each player makes a separate five-card high hand and five-card ace-to-five low hand (eight-high or lower to qualify), and the pot is split between the high and low (which may be the same player). To qualify for the low, a player must be able to play an 8-7-6-5-4 or lower (this is why it is called "eight-or-better", or simply "Omaha/8"). Each player can play any two of his four hole cards to make his high hand, and any two of his four hole cards to make his low hand. If there is no qualifying low hand, the high hand wins the whole pot.Qualification to win the low side of the pot requires a 5 card hand with values from ace (lowest value) to 8. The ideal low hand would be ace-2-3-4-5 - this hand is known as the "bicycle" or the "wheel". The player with the lowest high card has the winning low hand. Therefore, a hand including ace-2-4-6-8 will be beaten by a hand of 2-4-5-6-7. In the event that 2 or more players hold the same high card, then the winner of the low side of the pot is the player holding the 2nd lowest (or if needs be 3rd, 4th or 5th lowest) card.
Omaha Hi/Lo-Probabilities
Keep in mind that in order for anyone to qualify low, there must be at least three cards of differing ranks 8 or below on the board. For example, a board of K-8-J-7-5 makes low possible (the best low hand would be A-2, followed by A-3, 2-3, etc.) A board of K-8-J-8-5, however, cannot make any qualifying low (the best low hand possible would be J-8-5-2-A, which doesn't qualify). Statistically speaking, a low hand is possible approximately 60% of the time.
