Rules

Omaha hi-lo has the same rules as Omaha; except for one twist- the lowest hand splits half the pot with the highest hand. To qualify as a low hand, a player must have five unique cards of 8 or less. Like Stud 8 or better, straights and flushes do not count, so A2345 is the best possible low hand and 87654 is the worst possible low hand qualifier.

When you play Omaha hi-lo, your best hi and lo are considered when you show down your hand. For example, suppose you have AA23 (the best Omaha hi-lo hand) and the final board is A4456. You have a full house, aces full of 4’s for your high. Your low hand is A2345, also know as a wheel.

Cards to Play

The best Omaha hi-lo strategy when you start out playing the lower limits, is premium hand selection. Bluffing is not a tool to be used, except in rare circumstances, in the lower limits. Simply starting with premium hands, looking at the flop, and either continuing if the flop hits you or folding if it doesn’t, is generally the best way to win at low limit Omaha hi-lo.

You are looking for hands that work for both sides of the pot. The Ace is the key card; it works for both high and low. This means a hand with an ace might have a good low potential (preferably A2) and something with a high potential like a nut straight or nut flush draws.

Here are examples of hands that you want to start with.

(A A 2 3) (A A 3 4) (A 2 3 4) (2 3 4 5)
(A K Q 2) (A K Q J) (K Q J 10) (Ax 2x X X)

I recommend that if you are only playing for the low, play for the NUT low. Generally, A2 is the nut low, but this can change quickly.

When one of your low cards hits the board, you’ve been counterfeited.
Suppose you have A 2 and the board comes A 5 T. Your Ace has been counterfeited. You no longer have the nut low draw. Now the nut low draw is a 2 3.

Hands with a lot of middle cards like 89TJ should be mucked preflop, but a high hand like AAJT double suited is still playable. Thus, good starting hands generally have very big or very low cards; middle cards do not play well in hi-lo.

Since drawing to the low is often dangerous for new players, I suggest you protect yourself from frequently drawing to the second nut (instead of the nut low) by mucking hands like 23 or A3 if they do not have a very strong high potential as well. If you have AA34 double suited, by all means, play it. However, if you have A38T rainbow, muck it. A2xx is almost always playable unless there has been multiple raises by players you think might also have an A2.

Being dealt low cards is good in Omaha hi-lo because they can win both sides of the pot …the lo part and they could form a straight and win the hi, too). However, very good high hands are playable in Omaha hi-lo, especially in an unraised pot or shorthanded play. One note, if many players come into the pot that you know only play low cards, the deck is probably rich with the big cards. So in these situations playing the big cards might have added benefit.

If you could choose from the following hands, which one would you pick?

a. A 3 J K
b. A A 2 3
c. A K 2 5
d. A 3 4 5

All of these are premium hands to start with in Omaha Hi Lo. But if you have a choice, choose hand B, as it has a pair of aces, two nut flush draws, and three cards to the nut low. These cards have plenty of different ways to go to make a hand. You would love to have this hand as often as possible as it’s a monster. You would win all the money, eventually anyway, with a hand like that.

Suppose you are playing in a $2-$4 limit Omaha Hi Lo game, Mr. Tight raises the pot to $4 in first position, Mr. Solid and Mr. Passive call behind him. You are on the button with K Q J 10. What is your play?

a. Fold
b. Raise
c. Call

You know when Mr. Solid raises the pot he has premium cards, probably with an A2 in his hand. Also Mr. Solid or Mr. Passive probably wouldn’t come in with out premium low cards in their hands. So hopefully the deck is rich in the big cards, and you might get a good flop. Choose C, call, then look at the flop. If it’s good for you, play aggressively … if you miss the flop, fold.

Three players are remaining at the showdown.

The board reads 9 4 3 J K. Who wins High? Who wins Low?

a. A 2 4 6
b. Q 10 6 5
c. A 2 J K

When you look for high, first look to see if the board is paired. Then look to see if there are three to a flush, then three to a straight. Since the board isn’t paired, there can’t be a full house. There are three spades, so there is a possible flush. Player A is the only one with two spades in their hand, so they win high. To find the low, you first have to have three cards 8 or below to have a qualifier. Since the board only has two cards 8 or lower, there is no qualifier for low. Since no one qualified for low, the high hand player A get all the pot, or in Omaha terms, he scoops the pot.