Omaha Poker Strategy
If you are unfamiliar with Omaha Hi/Lo, please see my article “Omaha Hi/Lo – A Short Introduction” for some basic explanations.A lot of people play Omaha Hi/Lo in preference to Omaha High. This can be seen at certain large on-line sites where some rooms have acquired a culture for that variation and there is a wide choice of active tables. So why is it popular? Could it be the attraction of two pots available to win at every hand and the consequent guarantee of action?
It is this very factor that makes it essential to play a tight game when you sit down at the table. The old adage of “the looser the players, the tighter you should play” is applicable here.
Every player receives four hole cards so a player could make a loose case for seeing the potential of a high hand or a low hand or both in every hand he receives. Many players take this attitude and justify it as a reason to see a flop every hand. You should not make that mistake.
Adjust your thinking so that you realise that it is not only you that has four cards to choose from before the flop, so does everyone. The logical conclusion is that you should not see any greater proportion of flops than you would when playing the same number of players at Texas Hold’em. There are the same numbers and, on a random basis, the same probability of making a winning hand.
There are two pots at stake, so many players will see a flop and maybe more cards simply because they hold two low cards such as A2 or A3. This is flawed thinking.
If your other hole cards are not high cards like KK or do not help the ace on the high side, (for example, KQ, KJ, another A or perhaps 54 or 42 to help make a low straight), you are immediately limiting your likelihood of a profitable payoff. Half the pot at a minimum goes to the high hand winner. You forgo this if you have no high hand outlets. Only half goes to the low hand winner.
If there are many people in the pot, players may argue that it is still worth going for half the pot by using their two low cards such as A2, A3 or 23. If you have only those two low cards and not more like A23 or A24, you are running more than one risk to share the low pot with others or lose it altogether.
If the pot is multi-handed, there is a high chance one or more of your opponents are also betting with an ace. He may have you duplicated so that you both hold A2. At showdown, the low pot would be split again so that you receive only 25% of the entire bets put into the pot. This is called being quartered. You might even find your bets exceeded your return. Worse, an opponent may hold a more complete hand such as A23x. In that event, if an A or a 2 hits the flop, turn or river, your low hand will no longer win because it has been “counterfeited” by the board. Now your opponent is in the lead because he can use his A and 3 with the 2 on the board, or his 2 and 3 with an A on the board, to make a nut low hand whereas you no longer can use your 2 or A. Finally, the board may not even produce three unique cards between A and 8. If it does not, there is no qualifying low hand for anybody. Only the high hand wins in that case.
The above pointers show that joining a game of Omaha Hi/Lo and majoring on chasing low pots at the expense of high pots, is a dangerous game and frequently uneconomic. You should be prepared to fold most your hands before the flop and wait for the premium hands like AA23, AA24, AAK2, AK23, AAKQ, AKKJ, KKQT.
Note how the above hands exclude anything in the region 5 through to 9. A tight player will throw out any hand that has those cards in it unless there is also a top high hand combination like AAK, AA2, A23, AKQ.
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