Omaha Hi-Lo Strategy

"Omaha" really refers to three different games: Hi, Hi-Lo, and Lo.

Omaha Hi Strategy

Omaha Hi strategy is very similar to that used in Hold'em. The number of unseen cards in the deck is the same as in Hold'em, minus two (the two additional cards in your pocket). Otherwise, the math is the same.

The only difference really is that you have four hole cards from which you must take two for purposes of putting together your hand. Those two should be considered as playable, or not, under the same criteria as used in Hold'em. Three -- and only three -- of the board cards can be used.

In Omaha Hi a couple of nuances should be kept in mind that distinguish Texas Hold'em thinking from Omaha Hi strategy:

• In Hold'em, you can play zero, one or two of your hole cards. This gives you a little more flexibility (in this respect) than in Omaha. (Playing zero hole cards in Hold'em is pretty theoretical, as it means your hand is totally on the board, and everyone else has at least the same hand, so you're almost guaranteed to lose unless everyone else folds.) On the other hand, in Omaha, two hole cards must be used.
• In Omaha Hi you have four cards to choose from. This makes Omaha Hi a bit more flexible concerning starting hands than Texas Hold'em. Your chances of putting together a decent, playable hand are twice as good - really better than twice as good -- as is the case in Hold'em. Not surprisingly, more Omaha Hi players pay to see the flop than Hold'em players (assuming competent play).
• Even more interesting is the following: The great benefit of Omaha games is that you don't have to choose which of the four cards to use until the very end. It often happens that you have a couple of high cards in the pocket, and they seem to be the ones to play with. But once the flop comes, a lower card may suddenly take on new importance - to fill a flush or a straight for example. Switching tactics in terms of your hole cards is, according to Omaha devotees, a good part of the fun of the game.

Omaha Hi-Lo Strategy

Strategic thinking in split-pot or Hi-Lo games is considerably different from strategies that work in plain "Hi" games. For example, Poker players like to refer to Kings as Cowboys. In Texas Hold'em, "Cowboys" is a great starting hand. In Hi-Lo games, however, Cowboys should be left in the bunk house. They are a sneaky trap for the Hi-Lo player. Seasoned players admit that this may be a bit contrary to intuition, but on reflection, it makes sense.

In Hi-Lo games, aces are really the valuable card, as they can be both high and low, and sometime empower a player to "scoop the pot" - the real objective of Hi-Lo games. The purpose is to take the whole pot rather than share it ("chop" it) with another player. A person who is content to win just one side of the hand should probably change to either the high game or the low game. Winning half-pots is not an efficient outcome in Hi-Lo poker. It's better than losing, but it is not winning.

The main trouble with a pair of Kings in the pocket is that the low end of the pot is out of the question, and the high end can easily lose to aces or any stronger hand.

Consider a scenario in Omaha Hi-Lo (or Stud Hi-Lo) in which a player has an ace in the pocket against your two kings in the pocket. That ace, if it pairs up, will beat your kings, and if it does not eventually find a mate, it will lurk around hunting for a low straight configuration to win both high and low. On the other hand, if the ace has a King for a neighbor in the pocket (or on the door, or on someone else's door), then that King is dead for trips.

A pair of Kings is just not strong enough to win many high hands, and it is too high to win any low hands (and would not be a qualified low hand in most games anyway). Even Kings Up (that is, two pair, the higher of which is Kings) is just not that strong a hand in Hi-Lo, particularly with a full table of players. Both flush and straight possibilities are reduced with a pair in the pocket (as they can neither be suited or connected).

In truth, a pair of Kings is not that strong a hand in high games either, though it is even harder to bring yourself to fold them then. The basic problem with kings is that they win often enough to be credible, but they tend to make players hang on when they shouldn't, investing more money in losing pots. When kings don't win, they usually cost their owner more chips than usual because the player is calling against a flush or a straight.

Further to the point, experienced players (in Hi, Lo or split-pot games) do not hope to improve a pair to trips, whether kings or queens or whatever, when one of the desired cards might likely be in someone else's pocket, as discerned from the betting. The reason is that the chances of getting trips - already somewhat remote - is cut in half as soon as you conclude that one of them is among another player's hole cards. Rarely would it make financial sense to pin one's hopes of winning on somehow pulling out that one last card. This is doubly true if the "pot odds" can only be calculated using the "hi" half of the pot, which will always be the case in Hi-Lo games when holding out for trips.

In the case of Aces, however, it is not wise to count them out unless all four are visible or present by implication from the betting behavior of others. They have a habit of appearing in Hi-Lo games when unexpected. It is a fair assumption that any player who is an active caller is holding an ace. If another ace should become available to the player on the board, it would make a pair or trips, and beat your cowboys or whatever. A calling player might also be hanging in there with a low hand, and often that does not become evident until the very end.

Omaha Lo Strategy

Because there is no split pot, the math and strategic thinking of Omaha Hi can be used for Omaha Lo, with just a couple of exceptions. Because straights and flushes are disregarded, your analysis of the board is somewhat more simplified than in Hi games. The major twist is, of course, to learn to "think lo," that is, train your mind not to rejoice every time a face card appears. Aces, of course, are useful as the lowest of the low.

Some rules variations require winning low hands to be "qualified" in the same sense as a low hand in split-pot games (no pairs, no card over 8). This is a curious complication of the rules, as (1) somebody has to win the pot eventually, and (2) it is rare that a hand could win with a nine-high or worse. In the variation that requires qualified hands, the lack of a winner means there is a new deal, and the pot continues, with new blind bets and everything.

For this reason, it is probably sensible to think in terms of a qualified hand anyway, and not play to win with anything weaker. Unlike some lowball games in which straight do count, you need not be concerned with having a gap in your sequences.

A good starting hand in Omaha Lo, therefore, involves putting together a couple of low, unpaired pocket cards as your working hypothesis for deciding whether to play or not. Then, as the board develops, you might find yourself paired up, and have to switch to a "plan B" for winning. If there is no good "plan B," fold.

Because the "Lo" version of Omaha stands the conventional "Hi" thinking on its head, many experts recommend that a beginner play a good bit of Omaha Lo before taking on the split-pot version, which requires a kind of multi-tasking, like a cat watching two rat holes at the same time.