Omaha Hi/ Lo Poker Tips
Omaha poker is a game similar to Texas Hold’em. Owing to its large pots, Omaha Hi/Lo has become one of the most popular games around the world. Each player is dealt four cards that belong only to the player. Five cards are placed face up on the table. Every player uses exactly 2 cards from the four cards in conjunction with exactly 3 cards which are face up on the board. They have to make the best five card poker hand possible. The best hand gets the pot. The Omaha high/low strategy is played by every individual, depending on the strength of his hands.
Omaha Hi/Lo is played with an eight or better qualifiers. This means that a lower hand must consist of five different cards ranked lower than eight. This qualifies them to be eligible to win the low portion of the pot.
A Flush or a Street does not count against this hand. To understand the rank of low hands, here is a list of the least powerful to the most powerful hands possible to qualify (just examples, but there are multiple such hands possible with different combination):
1. 6, 5, 4, 7, A
2. 4, 6, 3, 8, 2
3. 7, 8, 6, 4, 2
4. 8, 7, 4, 3, A
5. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
6. 2, 3, 6, 8, A
7. 3, 5, 7, 8, A
The Basic Omaha Hi/Lo poker tips!
- Ace of a kind: You can survive the Omaha Hi/Lo game only if you are holding a strong pair. Majorly ace and deuce. It becomes a highest rated combo. In a game, Ace-Deuce and two cards chosen at random are more profitable than a pair of Aces and two randomly selected cards. You can almost always play an Ace-Deuce in the pre-flop in a loose or a full game. Other Ace-Ace hands don’t do nearly as well as an Ace-Deuce combination.
- Don’t be a bluff: It is a game of high value. The value is generally nuts. It is difficult to fold out when your opponent has nuts. You can obviously not throw a bet on a non-nut hand. The business of bluffing isn’t going to work in favor of you. Don’t fear being quartered if there are more than four layers in the pot. To get the quarter of the money, put a quarter in the pot. If you get lucky, you win the quarter of your pot. You break even.
- Back-up plan: A, 2, 3 is way better than an A, 2. Being hoaxed will often ruin your hand. It is respective to the fact that you have another low card to fall back on. You need to risk playing a hand only if you have a back-up plan. Do not risk playing until you are very confident. Have a back-up for your high as well. There is a good chance that your flopped nuts can win a place post river.
- Don’t really play a big pot if you aren’t capable enough to do so. Play on stronger nut hands. If you get quartered in a multiple ways, it will end up being a disaster. You should play wisely and split the pot evenly and not lose the entire pot.
- Don’t play high hands in Omaha: This is in the case of playing online poker. You can see half the players holding their hands but can’t judge them over their bets. There is no chance you can peak or try and be vigilant about the players. It becomes difficult to judge a players’ move.
The basic types of Omaha Hi/Lo are:
- Limit Omaha Hi/Lo
- Pot limit Omaha Hi/Lo
- No limit Omaha Hi/Lo
- Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo
The one difference between Omaha poker and Texas Hold’em is that players while playing Omaha high/low strategy, receive four hole cards instead of two. The Omaha High low/strategy are way different than Texas Hold’em. But the most basic ones you need to follow while betting rounds are:
1. Letting go of the starting hands: According to Omaha Hi/Lo poker tips, if you receive the following hands, you should fold –
- Quads- J J J J
- Triples- 6 6 6 9
- 4 high cards- K K Q Q 3
- 2 high 2 low cards- K Q 3 4
- Low card- 3 to 8
- Pair- K K 4 3
- Unpaired- Q T 3 4
2. Dodging the high hands: Negatively expected value of a hand are the hands that are played by many winners to win. A hand like 7-8-J-Q-A double suited. This makes it a great hand. Avoid playing higher hands if you aren’t confident. You should not risk much of your investment on such cards. You can drop them from your street hands without losing much of your stack.
3. Paramount to the low: It is crucial to identify the nut low. It is the most difficult aspect of the Omaha variation. To calculate who has the best low hand, you need to compare the highest card you hold in hand. Say, a player is holding the highest card 8, but it is not better than the player holding a 7. Generally a hand which has 8 is considered the worst possible low hand. But the best low would only be the one with the lowest unpaired five cards.
4. Managing the bankroll: It should be of top priority to manage the bank role in any poker variation. An ample number of players who have the same hands on the Omaha as well as Texas Hold’em variation. According to my advice, you should play Omaha at higher stakes then Texas Hold’em. This is because the pot in this game has a higher value than a bot in Texas Hold’em.
5. Play to excavate the pot: The main goal has to be able to excavate the entire pot. Half a pot would be sufficient to win both, the high and the low. But to yield larger profits, your hands have to be tangible and capable enough to scoop the pot by challenging it.
Learn how to play Omaha Hi/Lo for free.
Head to Spartan Poker, the online poker site to learn the Omaha variation. Omaha high/low strategy has gained immense popularity through online poker websites the bountiful action, and multiple players can help you gain experience.
