Better Poker

Both the games of Omaha 8 and Omaha High-Low are the same, but however you find it, the game is peculiar in its split pot, i.e. the pot is divided between the player with the highest hand and the one with lowest. Should both the highest and lowest hands reside with one player, he gets the whole pot. This dual high and low winning hand form sets it apart from other variants and engenders some very different strategies as a player sets forth to enhance his betting odds to the highest level possible. Omaha calls for a single betting format and it is not a rarity for players to be actively seeking the highest or lowest or both hands along with all their opponents. Common to all poker types, the nuts (best hand) takes the pot.

As a beginner to Omaha 8, it will behoove you to watch many games to absorb the complex strategies involved. As in all poker games, the betting in Omaha 8 is an elaborate conglomeration of aggression, bluffing, and value betting and a comprehension of just how this amalgam of strategies is influenced by dual pots demands a clear understanding of what goes into making a winner. Your foremost efforts at learning Omaha 8 should be placed in a thorough study of the rules and then go on to join some beginner games and proceed on up the levels to master the possible game strategies. By the time you get to the really high levels with pot limit games, do not forget that high stakes mean multiple raises and high bets, so don’t go into one of these games empty handed. Make sure you are funded sufficiently to cover yourself for a long potentially expensive night at the tables.

Mechanics of Omaha 8 Play

Holdem and Omaha standard versions follow the same arrangement as Omaha 8 when it comes to declaring the highest hand. The low hand determining factors though are different The low hand in Omaha 8 must meet the following criteria:

The very name of Omaha 8 means that the low hand demands a player to play a card at or under the value of 8. And because the rules state that the players must play both of their hole cards, there must be in their hand two cards under this value to meet the criteria for the low hand.

If no hand meets the criteria for the low pot, the highest hand gets the whole thing which is similar to standard Omaha. The Ace through eight are the sole cards that can lend themselves to the winning low hand. Any card can meet the criteria for the high hand and a player can form hands of mixed high and low hands to own the entire pot.

You will usually find Omaha with standard pot limit rules, though limit and no limit are not totally out of the picture and can be found at some tables. One thing common to all Omaha 8 games is the split pots at high and low levels. This feature demands an in-depth understanding of what winning hands can be made up of and how this effects betting strategy.

It should always be in your mind as a player that a hand of three or four of a kind renders it almost impossible to win either end of the pot due to the two hole card rule, which leaves the player holding a pair at best. The epitome of a winning hand will consist of ace-two suited as this duo can produce several different high hand combinations while also being the one lowest ranked low pot taker. The ultimate low hand is called a wheel and includes A-2-3-4-5. At the top of hand supremacy is the Royal flush put together with three community cards.

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