When you play Omaha poker you will come across two versions--Omaha high and Omaha high/low Eight or better. They are also called Hi-Lo, Omaha8 or 8 or Better. These are names of the same game. Hi-Lo Omaha has become very popular as there is a split in the pot than only poker High game. In fact low limit Hi-Lo game is becoming more popular in the poker rooms. As there are two types of hands that are winning the pot, there are more people playing till the end.

When you are trying to make a low hand you should not have more than 8 in any case in you hand. You cannot have straight or flush if you are playing a low hand. The best lowest hand is A 2 3 4 5. You can win in Omaha low only if you have two low cards in your hand and three on the table which are lower than 8. Unless such cards are there you cannot make a low hand and the player with the highest hand wins. The ideal hand to play high-low poker is to have two high cards and two low cards in your hand. This will bring the whole pot to you without splitting. The other way is you have a high hand and there are no low hands.

In Hi-Low Omaha poker there are point system which decides your winnings. You must know the point value of the cards before you start playing the game. There are software available which gives these points and you can practice with them. The point system in this game is as follows:

For high cards:

Pairs: Ace has 30 points, kings have 13 points, Queens have 12 points and Jacks have 11. Rests of the cards are taken on their face value. Flushes: two flushes will be counted 10 with A. all the other flushes count 4. Three or four of the same suit is taken a half. Straights: when you have two cards with one gap or no gaps at all it is taken as 2 points.

When we come to low cards:

A,2 have 20 points, A and 3 - 15, 2, 3- 10 points, other cards with 10 points are- A,4 and 2,3. Cards with 5 points are - 3-4, A-5, 2-5, 3-5 and 4-5.

You need to add up the four cards for high or low points. You may call for 25 points, raise for 40 points and re-raise for 50 points.