Omaha H/L Starting Hands

[LombardiStix]

So you ONLY play when you have a shot at the low. A2 or A3 or 23 or A4 in your hand? Because there isn't always a low possibility... ?? Do you not play strong high hands?

[nightowl89]

So you ONLY play when you have a shot at the low. A2 or A3 or 23 or A4 in your hand? Because there isn't always a low possibility... ?? Do you not play strong high hands?

basically - i would only play a good big hand if i was on the BTN or at a push in the CO

[OmahaOne]

basically - i would only play a good big hand if i was on the BTN or at a push in the CO

So, How is that working for you? Seems like a waste of some good cards and lets good players the ability to pick up on your playing style and take advantage of it.

OmahaOne

[Akorps]

AA23 double-suited is the best starting hand in Omaha hi-lo

each little defect compared to that ideal hand makes the hand slightly worse

like AA23 single-suited (to the ace of course) is slightly worse

and AA24 double-suited is also slightly worse than AA23 double-suited

(the top 10 are

1.AA23 ds
2.AA24 ds
3.AA23 ss
4.AA25 ds
5.AA22 ds
6.AA34 ds
7.AA26 ds
8.AA24 ss
9.AA35 ds
10. AA2K ds

or something like that)

You can see AA is important

without AA all premium hands have at least one A

A23K ds is the best without AA at #25 or so
A2KK ds is #26
A234 ds is the next best without AA at #35 or so

variants of these hands are slightly worse, for example

A23K ss is #65
A23Q ds is #42 (each of these is slightly worse than A23K ds)

A2QQ ds is #62
A2KK ss is #52 (you can see each of these is slightly worse than A2KK ds)

note also that high cards and high pairs are important, to go along with A2 or A23

A235 ds is #47
A234 ss is #57 (each of these is slightly worse than A234 ds)

and so it goes, each defect when comparing a hand to one of the ideal hands
of its type weakens it a bit

[Limey777]

I would add that alot depends on how tight your table is. I have seen plenty of players that only play A 2 ??, A 3 ?? A 4 ??, you have to remain wary of them, they are always playing the lo. On a tight table I prefer to play the high, hit trips and fire away there's no feeling worse than winning the hand and being quartered. Try it on play money, I've been known to fire away with top pair and 3 overs on a rainbow flop, took down some huge pots, been called a big donk but it doesn't hurt so bad when you're holding all the chips.

[hojediade]

I also hear that when playing Omaha H/L, we should concentrate on hitting the high, as the low will only appear on %40 boards (if i'm not wrong). I think that's the best advice cause you can't split the high very often (almost never), which is not true with the low.
So if you're playing the high, then you'll probably pick-up half of the pot for your own, and let the other players deal with the low, if they ever caught it.
To rebound on your question Stixy, i would say that many hands have to be played in O H/L, even tho it's only to have a glance at the flop (like 4connectors like J,T,9,8).
Last advice, when you see a pair on the board that don't hit you, you should wonder who hit the board and muck your str8 or flush.

[samsmoot]

Some good advice there hojediade. You gotta play some high only hands, but prefer to get in as cheaply as possible.

Can I add the obvious-when-you-think-about-it fact that if you have got only the nut low in a four-way pot you will make money even if you get quartered, but will lose money when you get quartered in a three-way pot.

The best thing not to do IMO (in contrast to what hojediade suggests) is to play middling straight cards - 8 9 10 J is good for Omaha, but for Hi/Lo I tend to avoid - a straight at the lower end will probably put a low on board, and at the top end you may lose to a higher straight. I'm still learning the game, and I'd be happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, but 10 J Q K is as low as I would usually go at a full table. Suitedness will count for a lttle more as well when you play the higher straights.


As for the board pairing, hojediade is spot on - only occasionally can you continue, but with great care.