What Is The Best Low Hand In Omaha Hi Lo
Omaha Hi Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or Omaha Eight or Better) is a “split pot” version of the popular Omaha poker game. In this version of the game, there are two winning hands in each round: the high winner and the low winner.
The best possible low hand on Omaha Hi/Lo (and Stud Hi/Lo) is 5-4-3-2-A, which is often known as the wheel (or bicycle). You will notice that the 'wheel' is also a Five-high straight on the high end of the board, which makes it a very powerful holding in Hi/Lo games. Tournament Hand Analysis: How to play low pairs out of position? 16: February 18th, 2020 9:11 PM: Learning Poker: Best poker room for micro fixed limit Omaha hi-low, stud hi-low? 1: November 2nd. While every thoroughbred Omaha player may have their own personal favorite hand, A, A, 2, 3 (double suited), is the best hand to be armed with in Omaha hi-lo.
The high hand winner is the player with the highest value winning hand – the same as in the standard version of Omaha. The low hand winner is the player with the best hand featuring five unpaired cards valued 8 or lower. Flushes and straights are ignored in the low hand. If you know the basics of Pot Limit Omaha Hi strategy, you should have no problems getting to grips with Omaha Hi Lo strategy, so here are some tips to get you started.
Be prepared to fold on the flop
An essential Omaha 8 strategy is to recognize when you have a weak hand early on and get out quickly. The game favors the highest value hands so if the flop offers you little, it’s time to fold. Betting on average hands is a flawed Omaha Eight or Better strategy that will quickly end your game.
Forget about bluffing
If you are planning on bringing your Texas Hold’em bluffing skills to the Omaha Hi Lo table, think again. The game is driven by strong hands so when the betting starts, the chances are you are going up against players with high-value combinations. Bluffing in this situation is a sure-fire way to get beat. There are some Omaha Hi Lo strategy advanced situations where bluffing may be useful, but it takes time and experience to understand such nuances of the game. Until you reach that point, bet the hand you have.
Don’t commit too early
If you are dealt a strong early hand such as A-A-2-3 double-suited, don’t be tempted to raise early. You will reduce the field while committing a lot of money before you have seen the flop. It’s much better to keep as many players in the game as possible if you have the potential to hit the “nuts”. Some players may raise early if they have a good but not strong hand to try and force other players to fold but this strategy can backfire after the flop.
Remember, the key decision you need make after being dealt with your hole cards is whether to play your hand or not. If you have a premium hand, you should play but avoid raising until after the flop when there is a multi-way pot there to be scooped.
Omaha Hi Lo 8b Strategy
- How To Play Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or Better — Clear And Concise Guide – The Rules Of How To Play Omaha Hi-Lo.
- Omaha Hi-Lo Starting Hands Guide — Starting Hands Guide For Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better and PLO8
- PLO8 Poker – Ace-Two Errors & How To Spot Them — Every PLO8 Player Enjoys The Sight Of A2 As Part Of Their Starting Hand, However There Are Times When A2 Errors Can End Up Costing You Chips.
- Omaha Hi-Lo Point Count Systems For Starting Hand Selection — Dr Hutchinson’s Omaha Hi-Lo Point Count System Reviewed – Useful For Online Play??
- High Only Hands In PLO8 Poker – For The 30% Of The Time A Low Is Not Made, An Introduction To Profitable High-Hand Play.
- How To Avoid Being Quartered In O8 Poker – Avoiding Being Quartered In Certain Situations Can Make A Big Difference To Your Bankroll.
- Playing Static Flops In PLO8 – Cardrunners Coach Dan ‘CampFireWest’ Deppen takes us though some advanced strategy ideas.
- Omaha Hi-Lo Probability Math – How Often Will You Make A Low? — How Often Will You Make A Low For Different Starting Hands.
- All-Ins Pre-Flop In No Limit Omaha Hi-Lo — No-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Strategy Should Include Defense Against The Constant All-In Overbets Pre Flop in NL08.
- Straights In Omaha Hi-Lo, A Closer Look! — Straights, Draws To Straights and When To Play Straights In Omaha Hi-Lo… A Closer Look!
- Omaha Hi-Lo Probability Math – How Often Will You Make A Low? — How Often Will You Make A Low For Different Starting Hands.
- Scooping PLO Hi-Lo Pots – The Why And The How! — Lets take a look at taking the high and low splits of the pot in O8 games.
Omaha Hold'em, 8 or better high-low split was in definite need of shortening, so poker players commonly refer to it as Omaha/8 or Omaha hi/lo. As with any other game of poker, the rules are mostly simple, but mastering the game requires a talented, relentless student. Omaha is also thought to be the game of the future, with its popularity growing very quickly, and already outgrowing many 7 card stud populations. In fact, the most populated omaha 8b games are found online these days. Full Tilt Poker has the best Omaha hi/lo 8b games, with a combination of good player population and lots of big name pros to watch at $1000/$2000 limits and higher. Absolute Poker has fewer players, but their Omaha hi/lo 8b pot limit games are very loose at the lower levels.
Qualifying Low hands
In Omaha hi/lo, the pot can be a split pot if there is a qualifying low hand. To qualify as a low hand, the player must have five unpaired cards that are 8 or lower. An ace counts as the lowest card in a qualifying low hand, and flushes and straights do not effect the low value. The best 'low' hand would be an ace through five straight (A2345). This hand is commonly called the 'Bicycle.' It is entirely possible for a player to have the best low and best high hand. Take for example a player has A2456, all of spades. He has a spade flush as a high and and an Ace through 6 low hand. Players can even use different cards in their hand to make a separate low and high hand. If a player has both the best high and best low hand, he wins the entire pot, also called 'scooping' the pot.
The Blinds and Dealer Button
Omaha is a fixed position game, like Texas Hold'em. Position is determined by who currently is sitting behind the dealer chip or button. The dealer chip moves clockwise around the table after each hand. The dealer has the advantage of acting last on every round except for the first, and wise poker players know the advantage this brings. Also like Texas Hold'em, we use blind bets to get the pot started. The first player to the left of the dealer puts in the small blind, which is usually half of the big blind. The player to the left of the small blind is required to put in the big blind, and this is generally equal to the small bet at the particular limit being played. For example, in a $10/$20 game of Omaha, the small blind would be $5 and the big blind $10.
The initial deal is where we see the major difference between Omaha and Texas Hold'em. In Omaha, each player is dealt four cards face down instead of two. However, only two of these cards are allowed to be used in creating the players hand. This must be kept in mind as the hand progresses! The four down cards is the greatest stimulant for action for the Omaha variation of poker, as it is not hard to find a nice hand when you are dealt 4 cards.
After everyone is dealt 4 cards face down, the player to the left of the big blind must either call the big blind, fold or raise. Each player acts in turn, folding, calling, raising or re-raising. The blinds are considered 'live,' meaning that when the action gets to them in the first round of betting they can also fold, bet or raise.
The Flop
When betting action is completed on the first round, chips are raked into the pot and the dealer places 3 cards face up in the middle of the table. These are community cards, used by all players to create their best hand. Again, do not forget that you must use exactly 2 cards from your hand and three cards from the community board to create your best five card hand! A round of betting begins, starting with the player to the left of the dealer button.
The Turn
After betting action has concluded on the flop, another card is placed face up in the center of the table, called the Turn. This card is also a community card. Bets double on the Turn. In our game of $10/$20, while $10 bets were made before, we now have to be or raise $20 at a time.
What Is The Best Low Hand In Omaha Hi-lo
The River
The final community card is placed face up in the center of the table, and the final round of betting takes place. We again use double bets on this round.
Showdown
When all bets are equalized on the River, a showdown occurs and the last player to make a bet or raise must turn over his down cards, revealing his best five card hand. If there was no betting on the final round, the first player still active to the immediate left of the dealer must show his hand. Each player in turn can either turn over his cards to reveal a better (or worse) hand, or muck his cards face down if he is the loser. Each player has to use exactly two of his hole cards and three cards from the community cards on the board. If there is no qualifying low hand, then the player with the highest ranking hand wins. If there is one or more qualifying low hands, then the player with the lowest qualifying low hand and the player with the highest ranking hand split the pot.
Best Low Hand In Omaha Hi Lo
Notes and Frequently asked Questions
The best low hand is determined first by looking at the highest qualifying low card in each players qualifying hand. Someone with A2358 would say he had an 'eight low.' His opponent meanwhile has A2357. He has a 'seven low' and wins the low side of the pot, since his seven is lower than the first player's 8. If the players have qualifying low cards of the same rank, we simply move down the chain of cards until one player's card is lower than the other. Example: A2368 beats A2378. Player one would note that he has an eight-six low, while the loser holds an eight-seven. It's not often to have two players who hold identical low hands, but it happens, and this results in a split of the low side of the pot.
Never forget: You form your hand using exactly 2 cards from your hole cards and 3 from the board.
You can use two of your cards to form a high and and two others to form a low hand. Keep all of your options and possible hands in mind!
An interesting event happens every now and then in Omaha hi/lo, and it is called 'getting quartered.' This occurs when two players tie for the high side of the pot and a third player is the only one with a qualifying low hand. The low hand gets half the pot, and the two high hands split the high side, hence they only receive a fourth, or a 'quarter' of the entire pot. The same thing occurs when two players have identical lows, and another player has the high hand. The high hand takes the high half of the pot and the two low hands split the low side of the pot. Getting quartered is almost always a bad thing, as you will tend to put more money into the pot than you will get out of it, unless there were a lot of players in the hand donating towards the pot from the beginning.