Omaha 8 or better is a game where starting with strong holdings is of utmost importance.  Playing speculative hands will lead to large portions of your bankroll disappearing quicker than any other poker game you will run across.

Let’s talk a moment about starting hands that include an ace.  The ace is the most powerful card in the deck in Omaha 8 or better due to the fact that it is the only card that plays both ways.  Obviously it is needed to make nut straight and flushes, but it is also required to make nut lows.  In Omaha 8 or better, you will need to holding or to be drawing to the nuts in almost all cases.  If you are not, most of the time you will lose.

The strongest hands in Omaha 8 or better are hands that have an A-2 and two coordinating cards.  Ideally you want an A-2 with another wheel card and a card above 9. You also want your hands to have at least two cards suited, preferably with the ace.  The strongest hand in Omaha 8 or better is A-A-2-3 with both aces suited.  Hands with A-3 and two coordinating cards are very strong as well.  These types of hands are generally raising hands pre-flop.  A-4 and two coordinating cards can be played, but should be played somewhat cautiously while you are learning.  A-5 and two coordinating cards I would only recommend playing from the blind to no raise.  A-6 and two coordinating cards should only be played from the big blind to no raise.  A-7 and A-8 hands should not be played as they will make the worst lows possible and will be outdrawn a high percentage of the time.

Hands starting with a 2-3 can be played profitably but can also become trap hands if you do not pay careful attention to the board.  First, an ace must hit the board on the flop to be able to play most hands starting with 2-3.  A low draw flops on the board without an ace; your hand is next to worthless.  While you are learning the game, you will only want to play the 2-3 either from the blind or in a very passive game where 4 or more players limp in to see a flop.  Even in those games, an ace must hit the flop in order to continue.

High hands in Omaha Hi-Lo are tricky to play and in most cases can lead to you only winning half the pot.  The problem with playing high cards in 8 or better comes when the board comes low or is drawing low.  At this point, you are drawing to half the pot if you are lucky.   While learning, you should probably only play high cards in one of two scenarios.  First, if you are in the blind to no raise, then you may see the flop with high cards.  Next, if you are in relatively tight game and multiple players are seeing the flop, then there is a high chance a lot of low cards are being held by your opponents.  This is one time where you can speculate with high cards.  If the flop comes low or middling, then it is time to fold.

Some of the biggest trap hands are hands that include the 7, 8, and 9.  Hands such as 6-7-8-9 and 7-8-9-10 can be very powerful in Omaha Hi, but in 8 or better, they are long term losers.  The main reason by now should be obvious.  6-7, 7-8, and 6-8 will not win the largest majority of the time.  Also, in most cases straights including the 7-8-9 will not be the nut straight and will just cost you money.  I cannot recommend a good time to play a hand such as this while you are learning, so the best thing to do is to avoid them.

Be careful when playing hands that are unsuited.  Hand such as A-2-3-K unsuited look great, but leave you drawing to just lows and straights.   You cannot make a flush and a flush is a common high hand.  A hand that is unsuited, even when strong, will usually wind up as a one way hand.  Even a hand such as A-A-3-4 unsuited can win up as speculative.  I’m not saying not to ever play this hand, but pay close attention when you do play the hand.

Let’s talk a moment about keeping players in the pot in Omaha 8 or better. In many poker games, you will try and push out opponents when you have the nuts.  Omaha 8 or better is a little different.  In many cases, you will be splitting the pot with another player and in some cases with more than one player.  When you have one side of the pot locked, you do not want to drive out the other players in the pot.  You want as much money contributed to the pot as possible.  In many cases, you will just call when you have a nut low on the flop instead of raising which is the instinct of many players.  Astute players will be able to place you on hands relatively easy when you raise with certain boards.  This may cost you money in the long run.

Omaha 8 or better is hand driven game that rewards solid play.  It is no surprise that the winner in most Omaha 8 or better games is typically the tightest player.  Most of this is due to their ability to get away from mediocre hands and capitalize on weak player.   While learning the game, you need to stay to a tight strategy and stay away from mediocre cards if you want to hold onto your chips.  The prior two articles should have given you a solid foundation to begin playing and should start paying off dividends immediately.  Good luck and I hope to see you at the tables.

First, remember that in Omaha poker, you must use two cards in your hand and three from the board.  The same holds true in hi-lo, but there is one difference.  You do not have to use the same two cards for both high and low.  For example, let’s say you have A-2-K-Q and the board ran out 3-6-7-K-Q.  You can play your K-Q for two pair to take high, and you can play you’re A-2 to give you the nut low.  Nut low is the term used for the best possible low for a given hand.

Whether you are a beginning player or an experienced poker player, quality starting hand selection is the key to long term success in Omaha hi-lo poker.  The object of the game in Omaha hi-lo poker is to scoop pots.  Scooping a pot occurs when you win both the high and low sides of the pot, and when there are no qualifying lows.  As a result, you need to play hands that give you a decent chance to scoop pots.  You really want hands that have an ace and preferably one or more wheel cards.  Hands containing A-2 or A-3 are best.  A-4 and up start to become a little more tricky and should be played only in the blinds.

In addition, you are looking for cards that are suited and connected in your hand.  In regards to suited cards, you really want cards suited with an ace.  Don’t get in a habit of playing any two suited cards.

Omaha hi-lo is a drawing game.  You will constantly be drawing to either a low, a straight, flush or full house.  As a result, you need to be constantly aware of what is possible on the board.  A rule of thumb in Omaha is that when you are not drawing to the nuts in one or more directions, then you need to get out of the hand.  If you are drawing to a straight and there are three suited cards on board, get out.  If you are drawing and the board pairs, then a full house is likely and you will want to get out.  If you have only 2nd or third nut low and more than one opponent is in the hand, its time to fold.  Playing second best hands will only cost you money.

Let’s talk about the subject of quartering.  When a player is quartered, that means that they have tied another player for one side of the pot.  In a lot of instances in Omaha hi-lo, this tie will occur on the low side of the pot.  When this happens, a player will receive only one-third of the total pot.  When only two or three players are in the pot, a player will actually lose money in a quartered pot.  As you gain experience in hi-lo, you will be able to recognize situations of potential quartering.  I will point out a couple of situation that you will typically encounter.

First, when there are more than three players seeing a flop, there is a higher than normal chance that at least two players are holding an A-2 or A-3.  When the flop hits making A-2 the nut low and multiple players stay in the pot, slow down.  Another instance of quartering will occur when there are four wheel cards on the board.  If you are in a hand with three or more players and the board holds four wheel cards, you are looking at a potential quartering situation.  In some cases you will chop the pot with one or more wheels, but you will likely run into a higher straight or a flush along the way.

Another term you will encounter quite often is the term counterfeited.  When a player is counterfeited in hi-lo, this means that a card has fell on the board that eliminated the ability for the player to make low.  For example, if you hold A-2-10-J and the flop falls A-7-8, your low is counterfeited.  You can only make a low if a fourth low card falls, and it will not be a nut low.  This term can also apply to players whose nut low was eliminated but they were left with a weaker low.   If you held A-2-6-K and the board fell A-7-8, then your nut low would be counterfeited, but you would still hold a weak low.

I mention counterfeiting due to the fact that many beginner players will hold on to their hands after getting counterfeited hoping to hit a second pair or draw to a weaker low.  While you are beginning to learn the game, you need to abandon the hand when you become counterfeited unless you have a redraw to the nut low or a nut high.  A redraw is the term used when referring to a hand that has a possibility to draw to another hand if one hand is counterfeited or a potential higher hand can beat it.  An example would be if you held A-2-4-Q and the flop fell A-5-6.  In this case your nut low was counterfeited but, you also flopped two pair and a three will give you a wheel and a six high straight.

Omaha hi-lo is a little more complex than most game starting out due to the various combination of starting hands and the nuisances of the game.  A solid player will be a lifetime winner at the game, but they need to have a solid understanding of the game.  This article hopefully has given you a solid introduction to Omaha Hi-Lo.  In my next article, I will go over hand values in depth and offer tips to help you learn the game.