Other Games – Omaha High / Low

Rules

Omaha hi-lo has the same rules as Omaha; except for one twist- the highest hand splits half the pot with the lowest hand. To be considered as a low hand, a player must have five unique cards of 8 or less. Like Stud 8 or better, straights and flushes do not count, so A2345 is the best possible low hand and 87654 is the worst possible low hand qualifier.

When you play Omaha hi-lo, your best hi and lo are considered when you show down your hand. For example, if you have AA23 (the best Omaha hi-lo hand) and the final board is A4456. You have a full house, aces full of 4’s for your high. Your low hand is A2345, also know as a “wheel”.

Cards to Play

When you start playing the lower limits, the best Omaha hi-lo strategy is premium hand selection. Bluffing is usually not an option, except in very unique circumstances, in the lower limits. Simply starting with premium hands, looking at the flop, and either continuing if the flop hits you or folding if it doesn’t, is usually the best way to win at low limit Omaha hi-lo.

Always look for hands that work for both sides of the pot. The Ace is the key card for both high and low. Meaning, a hand with an ace might have a good low potential (preferably A2) and something with a high potential like a nut straight or nut flush draws.

Here are some examples for the best hands to start with.

(A  A  2  3 )
(A  A  3  4 )
(A  2  3  4 )
(2  3  4  5 )
(A  K  Q  2 )
(A  K  Q  J )
(K  Q  J  10 )
(Ax 2x X X)

If you are only playing for the low, we recommend you to play for the NUT low. Generally, A2 is the nut low, but this can change quickly.

Suppose you have A 2 and the board comes A 5 T. Your Ace has been counterfeited and you no longer have the nut low draw. Now the nut low draw is a 2 3.

Hands with a lot of middle cards like 89TJ should be considered to be a pre-flop, but a high hand like AAJT double suited is still playable. Thus, good starting hands generally have very big or very low cards; middle cards are not very good for a hi-lo game.

Since a low draw could be dangerous for new players, we suggest you to protect yourself from frequently drawing to the second nut (instead of the nut low) by mucking hands like 23 or A3 if they do not have a high potential as well. If you have AA34 double suited, than go for it. A2xx is almost always playable unless there have been multiple raises by players you think might also have an A2.

Having low cards is good in Omaha hi-lo because they can win both sides of the pot. However, very good high hands are playable in Omaha hi-lo, especially in an unraised pot or shorthanded play. Please note that if many players come into the pot that you know only play low cards, than the deck is probably rich with the big cards. So in this case playing the big cards might have added benefit.

Practice Hands

Suppose you are playing in a $2-$4 limit Omaha Hi Lo game, the Tight player raises the pot to $4 in first position, the Solid and the Passive players call behind him.
You are on the button with K  Q  J  10 . What is your play?

1. Fold
2. Call
3. Raise

You know when the Solid one raises the pot he has premium cards, probably with an A2 in his hand. Also the Solid or the Passive probably wouldn’t come in with out premium low cards in their hands. So hopefully the deck is rich in the big cards, and you might get a good flop. Choose B. call, and then if the flop is good for you, play aggressively … if you miss the flop, fold.

Three players are remaining at the showdown.

The board reads 9  4  3  J  K . Who wins High? Who wins Low?

1. A  2  4  6 
2. Q  10  6  5 
3. A  2  J  K 

When you look for high, first see if the board is paired. Then see if there are three to a flush, then three to a straight. Since the board isn’t paired, there can’t be a full house. There are three spades, so there is a possible flush. Player A is the only one with two spades in their hand, so they win high. To find the low, you first need three cards 8 or below to have a qualifier. Since the board only has two cards 8 or lower, there is no qualifier for low. Since no one qualified for low, the high hand player A get all the pot, or in Omaha terms, he “scoops” the pot. If you could choose from the following hands, which one would you pick?

1. A  3  J  K 
2. A  K  2  5 
3. A  3  4  5 
4. A  A  2  3 

All of these are premium hands to start with in Omaha Hi Lo. But if you have a choice, choose hand D, as it has a pair of aces, two nut flush draws, and three cards to the nut low. These cards have lots of different ways to make a hand. This hand is a monster; you would love to have it as often as possible. You would win all the money, eventually anyway, with a hand like that.

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