Omaha Hi Lo Poker Strategy
Table Of Contents
It’s a complex game to be sure, but if you spend some time brushing up on Omaha Hi Lo advanced strategy, you might find that playing the game at the top level is a lot of fun – and mighty profitable, too! Professional poker player Sammy Farha has won two Omaha Hi Lo bracelets at the World Series of Poker, earning almost $900,000. Omaha High-Low Poker Strategy Introduction to Omaha High-Low Split. By Steve Badger: Poker Strategy Articles Texas Hold'em Strategy Omaha Strategy Omaha High-Low PLO8 Double Board Secret of Omaha Dramaha Archie Super Stud 8 Poker Tournament Strategy Starting Hands Poker Math Poker Skills Poker Psychology PokerStars and Poker Boom Stories Site Map.
What is Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker?
If you know how to play pot-limit Omaha (or 'Omaha high'), you are well on your way to learning how to play Omaha hi-lo.
As the name suggests, Omaha hi-lo is a 'split-pot' version of Omaha poker in which players compete for both the 'high' and 'low' halves of the pot. Omaha hi-lo is usually played with fixed-limit betting and often turns up in 'mixed game' formats like H.O.R.S.E. (in which Omaha hi-lo is the 'O') or the popular 8-game mix.
You will sometimes see the game referred to simply as 'Omaha 8' or even 'O/8' or more elaborately as 'Omaha hi-lo split-pot-8-or-better.' The name gets styled differently, too, as 'Omaha High-Low,' 'Omaha poker high-low' and so on.
Pot-limit and no-limit versions of Omaha hi-lo are also popular, especially online either as cash games or tournaments.
How to Play Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker
The basic rules for Omaha hi-lo are very similar to pot-limit Omaha. See 'How to Play Omaha Poker' for an overview of how to play Omaha poker, which is itself a variation on regular Texas hold'em.
Just like in pot-limit Omaha, players are dealt four cards in Omaha hi-lo and are required to use two of those four cards in combination with three community cards in order to make a five-card poker hand.
As in hold'em or pot-limit Omaha, if a player bets and everyone folds before the showdown, the player wins the pot without having to show a hand. However, if the final bet is called and there is a showdown, hands are examined to see who has the best 'high' hand and who has the best 'low' hand, with each winning one-half of the pot.
Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Rules
In Omaha hi-lo, the 'high' hand is determined exactly the same way as in hold'em or Omaha 'high' games (like PLO), following traditional hand rankings.
The 'low' hand requires a little more explanation, especially if you are new to split-pot games or hi-lo poker.
First of all, whatever cards you use to make your high hand, that makes no difference when making your low hand. You can use the same two cards, the other two cards, or any combination just as long as you use two cards from your four-card hand plus three of the community cards to build your five-card poker hand.
The rules of Omaha hi-lo is usually played with a 'qualifier' for the low hand, meaning all of the cards making up a low hand have to be ranked eight or lower. That's where the 'split-8-or-better' comes from, a phrase usually added to the name of the game.
A qualifying low hand consists of five unpaired cards ranked eight or lower. For the low hand, the ace is considered a low card (the lowest), while it can also serve as the highest-ranking card in high hands.
Also worth noting — if your lowest five cards make a straight or a flush, that doesn't matter in Omaha hi-lo, you've still got a low hand (if all are ranked eight or lower). In other 'lowball' games like 2-7 no-limit triple draw, flushes and straights hurt you by making your low hand higher, but in Omaha hi-lo that is not the case.
That means a hand consisting of 5-4-3-2-A would be the lowest possible hand — that is to say, the best 'low hand' in Omaha hi-lo. This hand is sometimes called a 'wheel.' The next lowest possible hand is 6-4-3-2-A. The worst low hand that qualifies as a low in Omaha hi-lo would be 8-7-6-5-4.
A good way to figure out which low hand is best is to arrange the hand from highest card to lowest card and then to think of the hand as a five-digit number, with the lowest number being the best (or lowest) hand. Thus 5-4-3-2-A (54321) is better than 6-4-3-2-A (64321), and 6-4-3-2-A is better than 6-5-3-2-A (65321) and so on.
An Example of an Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker Hand
Let's say a hand of Omaha hi-lo goes to showdown with the final board reading 6♣3♠K♦Q♦.
You hold A♣K♠7♦4♣, and your opponent has Q♠J♦4♦2♠.
Your best possible high hand is two pair, aces and kings — using the A♣ and K♠ in your hand pairing them with the ace and king on board, with the queen being a kicker.
Your best possible low hand is 7-6-4-3-A — using the 7♦ and 4♣ in your hand along with the three low cards on the board. Note how you can't use the ace in your hand when making your low hand, since you have to use exactly two cards in your hand and three on the board (and there is an ace on the board).
Your opponent, meanwhile, has you beat both for the high and the low!
Your opponent's best possible high hand is a flush — using the two diamonds in his hand (J♦ and 4♦) and the three diamonds on the board.
Your opponent's best possible low hand is 6-4-3-2-A — using the 4♦ and the 2♠ in his hand along with the three low cards on the board. 64321 is lower than 76431, so your opponent has you beat.
Winning both halves of the pot like this is called a 'scoop' or 'scooping,' which is something you always want to try to do when playing split-pot or hi-lo poker games.
Sometimes in Omaha hi-lo there is no qualifying low hand. This is the case whenever there are less than three unpaired cards ranked eight or lower on the board.
For example, if the board is 9♣K♦A♥4♥J♠, there are only two cards ranked eight or lower on the board (the ace and four), which means it is impossible for anyone to make a low hand. When that happens, whoever has the best high hand scoops the whole pot.
Conclusion
Omaha hi-lo is not difficult to learn, especially if you already know how to play pot-limit Omaha. The strategy can be complicated, though, with a great deal of importance placed on understanding what are strong starting hands (e.g., hands containing an ace with at least one or two low cards, especially a deuce) and not making the mistake of battling for only half of the pot (just the high or low).
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Omaha Hi-lo Poker Strategy
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Omaha Hi Lo is the ultimate game of draws and it is the excitement of always looking for a better hand that gives it a unique appeal.
At showdown the pot is split equally between the best high and low hands. To qualify for a low hand you need 5 different cards all of which are 8 or below.
Hands are made up of exactly 2 cards from the 4 in your hand and 3 from 5 cards on the board. Different cards may be used to determine the high and low hands at showdown.
The large number of hand combinations can make Omaha High Low strategy seem complex. However with the following 5 simple tips you can seriously get a head start on most of the other Omaha players out there who still fail to understand the game.
Omaha Hi Lo Poker Strategy
Tip #1 – When To Enter The Pot
The most important decision in Omaha Hi Lo is made before the flop. Whether to enter the pot is determined by many factors including your cards, table position and the playing styles of your opponents.
You will often be getting a good price to draw after the flop, which will tempt you to lose money if you play with inadequate hands, so selecting only good hands to play before the flop becomes especially important. This ensures that you are not making mistakes by being ‘priced in’ to calling with the second best holding later in the hand.
So even more so than in Texas Holdem, you need to be disciplined and play a tight starting hand strategy.
Tip #2 – Play Only Hands with ‘Scoop’ Potential
The best fixed limit Omaha hi lo starting hands are those with the potential to win both the high and the low parts of the pot. Winning both pots is known as ‘Scooping’ and must be your objective with every hand played.
Examples of strong hands with scoop potential include those with an ace and other suited low cards. For example A-2-4-K double suited (2 cards each of 2 different suits) can easily win the low pot with the small cards and the high pot with a flush or straight.
So look for multiple possibilities in your starting hands, count them out, straights, flushes, low hands etc. If there are multiple then chances are the starting hand is a good option to play. If you can only see one possibility then you are usually best to wait for a better hand.
Tip #3 – Hands Which Play Better Heads-Up
Some hands play better against one or two opponents – while others are better when played multi-way against lots of opponents.
For example A-2-3-4 suited to the ace has great scoop potential and can be played multi-way. While A-A-3-K may win the high side of the pot without improving as well as the low side, the best chance of scooping with this hand is to cut down the number of opponents by raising pre-flop.
The trick is to recognise what type of hand you have. If you are holding a hand that plays better against one or two players and lots of players are in the pot, then you either need to raise to get some players to fold, or get out of the hand yourself.
Tip #4 – Avoid Middle Cards
Hands such as 7-8-9-10 are not very playable in Omaha Hi Lo. In order to win the high pot you would usually need a straight, this can easily become second best to an opponent playing picture card hands. If you make the top end of a lower straight then the pot will be split with a low hand – and there is a danger of losing the whole pot to a flush or even full house.
Tip #5 – Don’t Get ‘Quartered’
Playing low-only hands in Omaha Hi Lo runs the risk of being ‘quartered’. This describes the situation in which you share the low side of the pot while an opponent takes the high side. In this situation you are only getting a quarter of the pot in return for putting in half of all the bets in the pot. In other words you haven’t covered your bets and you have lost money in this hand.
With weak low hands, especially those not containing an ace, it is often best to fold in the early betting rounds. This becomes more important if you are between two opponents who may start a ‘raising war’ with high and low hands.
Get on an Omaha Hi and not a Omaha Lo!
If you pay attention to the 5 quick tips above, you will already be playing at a higher standard of Omaha Hi Lo Strategy than most other players who are simply playing Omaha as a change from their regular game of Holdem. Their money is up for grabs and there is no reason why it shouldn’t be you that claims it.
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