Omaha Hi-Lo (8 or Better) Strategy

When players who begin playing Omaha get used to it, the natural progression is to try their hand at Omaha Hi-Lo (8’s or Better). And for those who’ve played the simpler versions of poker, Omaha Hi-Lo can seem a bit confusing at first since it is possible for the pot to be split between a high and a low hand.

The truth is that the game is just like any other form of poker in that it takes some time and practice to master. Anyone who has played regular Omaha enough will have an easier time adjusting to Hi-Lo (8’s or Better). However, they still might struggle if they’re not be up on some of the finer points of the game such as strategies for winning.

But Omaha Hi-Lo can be beat in the long-run if one is willing to take the time to learn some of the common strategy used for it. Here are a few things that should be helpful as far as playing winning Hi-Lo goes.

Omaha Strategy #1: Keep a close eye on what hands are actually playable and have good value.

Omaha Hi-Lo (8’s or Better) sometimes gets the rap of being a complicated game to play when, in actuality, it’s not really. But it is tough to always notice the options available (especially during long sessions) since players can use two of their hole cards for the high hand and two of them for the low hand.

So a person that is holding 8c-10s-7h-Ac and is looking at a board of 4c-3h-10d-5s-9d has to think for a minute about what to do. Their high hand is pretty much garbage by Omaha Hi-Lo standards but they can make a decent low hand of 8-5-4-3-A.

On the flip side, a board of 9c-8d-As-Ah-4d and a hole hand of Ac-4s-10h-3d would made a low hand impossible but does give a good high hand in the A-A-A-4-4 full house. Making sure one never misses an opportunity Hi or Lo is basically a skill in itself.

Omaha Strategy #2: Never be scared to raise with the low hand.

In Omaha Hi-Lo (8’s or Better), players who tie for the low hand can actually get trapped into what’s known as being quartered. This basically means that the two players going for the low end of the pot tie and only get a quarter each while the high hand takes the other half.

This often creates the phenomenon where players with the low hand are scared to raise because they don’t want to give extra chips to the high hand. However, these players should instead be trying to knock the high hand out of the pot by raising.

If a low hand is successful in knocking a person with a weak high hand out of the pot and they have the other low hand beat for high, they can actually take 3 quarters of the pot. And while this may not happen every time, it can occur enough to make it a profitable move to raise with the low hand.

Omaha Strategy #3: Avoid trying to get involved in every hand.

Since players hold four different hole cards in their hands, it makes the possibilities seem endless at the beginning of each deal. And this often makes rookie Omaha Hi-Lo players do foolish things like try to see the flop (or more) with little in their hand.

This is a great way to blow through a lot of chips and must be avoided at all costs. A good example of something to throw away would be Js-9h-3d-5s. With this hand, there is little chance to win the high hand and the odds for taking the low portion of the pot don’t look a whole lot better.

Don’t waste chips seeing the flop in this instance and just muck these hole cards.

Omaha Strategy #4: Always get good estimations on “outs”.

With those four hole cards, Omaha Hi-Lo definitely becomes a game of trying to get the nuts or best hand in a certain situation. And this usually means that a few other players at the felt will be holding something worthwhile in addition to what you have. Hands like two pairs don’t carry the same weight that they do in poker games like Texas Hold’em.

That’s why a player needs to be good at calculating their outs or cards left that will make their hand a winner (potentially). The best way to do this quickly is to think about how many cards are out there that will make your hand.

If a player needed a king to make their hand and they happened to be holding one while there were zero on the board, they would have three outs or three cards in the deck that would possibly help them out.

Omaha Strategy #5: Look for bluff opportunities whenever possible.

A lot of people have the mind frame that it’s almost impossible to bluff in Omaha Hi-Lo (8’s or Better) because so many hands go to the river. But in tighter games, bluffing is especially possible and opportunities definitely exist for bluffing.

But one must pick their spots when they think bluffing will work. A good time to bluff always exists when a bad flop hits the board and a smaller pot is out on the table. Most players won’t want to mess with the bad flop if there are few chips to be gained from doing it.