Learn Omaha Hi-Lo

In Omaha high-low, each player makes a separate five-card high hand and five-card ace-to-five low hand (eight-high or lower to qualify), and the pot is split between the high and low (which may be the same player).

To qualify for low, a player must be able to play an 8-7-6-5-4 or lower (this is why it is called “eight-or-better”, or simply “Omaha/8″). A few casinos play with a 9-low qualifier instead, but this is rare. Each player can play any two of his four hole cards to make his high hand, and any two of his four hole cards to make his low hand. If there is no qualifying low hand, the high hand wins (scoops) the whole pot.

Some specific things to notice about Omaha eight-or-better hands are:

In order for anyone to qualify low, there must be at least three cards of differing ranks 8 or below on the board.

Low hands often tie, and high straights occasionally tie as well, as do, even more rarely, full houses. It is possible to win as little as a 14th of a pot (though this is extraordinarily rare). Winning a quarter of the pot is quite common, and is called “getting quartered.” One dangerous aspect of playing for the low pot is the concept of ‘counterfeiting’. To illustrate, if a player has, for example, 2-3 and two other cards in his hand and the flop is A-6-7, that player has flopped the ‘nut low’. However, if either a 2 or a 3 hit the board on the turn or the river, the hand is ‘counterfeited’ and the nut low hand is lost (the player still has a much weaker low hand however). This is why there is significant extra value in possessing the ‘protected’ nut low.

When four or five low cards appear on the board, it can become very difficult to read the low hands properly.

Starting hands with three or four cards of one rank are very bad. In fact, the worst possible hand in the game is 2? 2? 2? 2?! Since the only possible combination of two cards from this hand is 2-2, it is impossible to make low. As no deuce remains to appear on the board, it will be impossible to make three deuces or deuces full, and anyone with any matching card to the board will make a higher pair. Likewise, starting with four cards of one suit makes it less likely that you will be able to make a flush. Starting with four different suits yields no chance for a flush, and starting with four disconnected cards reduces straight possibilities. Computer analysis of the best starting hands has proven that the best starting hand for Omaha is A-A-K-K with both Ks suited to the As. For the Hi-Lo variation, the most valuable starting holding is A-2 (suited), A-3 (suited).

Hands to avoid tend to contain mainly middle ranked cards, which are of little use for any low splits and which tend to generate lower pairs and sets, weaker flushes and lower straights and can be very expensive.
Low hand ranks from best to worst: 5-4-3-2-A (’the wheel’), 6-4-3-2-A, 6-5-3-2-A, 6-5-4-2-A, … , 8-7-6-5-4. Low hands can thus be read as numbers between 54,321 and 87,654(with the exception of any number that has two of the same number i.e. 54,322). The lowest number that any player can make is the best possible low hand in play.

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