Omaha Hi-Lo Strategy Guide

Perhaps the most action-packed game in all of poker is Omaha Hi-Lo (aka Omaha Split). With the increased number of possible hands from each player having four hole cards as well as the fact that a high and a low hand may split the pot, there's never a lack of action in this game!

Before you begin your journey to playing Omaha Hi-Lo, make sure you're read our first installment in this Omaha Strategy Guide.

Qualifying low hands in Omaha Hi-Lo

Before you begin playing this game, you must understand that to qualify for the low hand you must hold two hole cards and along with three cards on the board, make an 8 or better low. In other words, Ad 3h 5h 8d Jc is NOT a winning low hand (it may work in Razz but that's another story). This knowledge will play a big role in your success or failure playing this game. High hands have no qualifier criteria and just like in Hold'em, even Ace high can win (although this is very rare in Omaha).

Starting hand selection in Omaha Hi-Lo

Your starting hands in Omaha split can range from double suited connectors to big pairs. Position plays a very large role at this game regardless of what you're holding but unlike Hold'em, where it may not make sense to limp early with any weak ace it's often an acceptable move in Omaha. If you look down to see As 3d 9h Jh, this is a perfectly suitable hand to play from most any position in Omaha Hi-Lo. You have gap connectors and two of them are suited so if you can see a flop for cheap, by all means do so. There are many boards that will hit this hand and allow you to play accordingly post-flop. Of course, the hands that we've outlined in our previous Omaha Strategy articles apply here as well.

Beware of getting quartered

Sometimes when you're holding the low hand you run the risk of being quartered. Let's say you're holding Ah 6d and the board shows 2d 4s 5h Jd Kc. It's not unheard of for another player to be holding Ac 6h here, especially if you all limped into the pot. If you ever feel that this is the case and you're holding a non-nut low, there's no need to get into a raising war on the river. The reason is that if your opponent is holding the high hand as well, he will scoop half the pot with the high and 25% of the low pot. So you've now lost more than half the money you put in the pot. It goes without saying that this is a -EV proposition.

Overall Omaha Hi-Lo strategy

Essentially, when starting to play Omaha split for the first time you should stick to ABC poker. Don't try to pick off bluff attempts and don't try to bluff yourself too often. If you're at the lower level buy-ins, you're not going to get any fish off of their low draw. Nor will you get them off a big high hand; this is rarely the case even at middle and high limit Omaha. So be conservative and play strong starting hands. Unless you get a big draw on the flop or hit a big hand, it may not make sense to chase until you have a better feel for the game. Again, as you learn a game and are building your bankroll you should be in self-preservation mode. Take your time, practice at a great site like PokerStars, and work your way up to the bigger games over time. Enjoy!