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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha/8 or better) is often times seen as one of the most complex but well-loved poker games. It is a game that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has expanded in acceptance so rapidly.

Omaha/8 starts just like a normal game of Omaha. Four cards are dealt to every player. A sequence of betting follows in which players can bet, check, or fold. Three cards are handed out, this is called the flop. A further round of wagering ensues. After all the players have either called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. Another sequence of wagering follows and then the river card is flipped. The gamblers must attempt to make the best high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is where many players can get flustered. Unlike Texas Hold 'Em, in which the board can make up every player's hand, in Omaha hi low the player has to utilize precisely 3 cards from the board, and precisely 2 hole cards. No more, no less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is just how it sounds. It's the strongest possible hand out of everyone's, regardless if it is a straight, flush, full house. It is the same concept in just about all poker games.

A lower hand is more complex, but really opens up the action. When deciding on a low hand, straights and flushes do not count. the lowest hand is the worst hand that can be put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Because straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and lower. The lower hand takes half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there's no low hand presented, the higher hand takes the whole pot.

It may seem complex at the outset, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to get the basic nuances of the game with ease. Seeing as you have players wagering for the low and wagering for the high, and seeing as such a large number of cards are in play, Omaha/8 offers an overwhelming array of wagering options and because you have numerous players battling for the high, and many trying for the low hand. If you like a game with a plethora of outs and actions, it's not a waste of your time to play Omaha 8 or better.