Omaha H/L tips and Strategy

[tinheads]

help me out here folks, can't play the game for peanuts lol

[SharBear613]

Ditto here....

Would love some good advise and stradegy tips for playing Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo.  For some reason I just struggle at that game! 

[Poker King]

I will get you some its my Favorite game.

[Queen Admin]

I know how to play it, just don't care for it cause I suck at it. LOL!!
My advice is to play at Carbon or [url=http://record.partnernordica.com/_52c5cdf5dee1545061c7310afe29d228/]PokerNordica[/u][/b][/url] where it tells you what HI and LO hand you have as the cards are played.    [/color]

[t1tpfdc]

...  its my Favorite game ...

then why are there not more scheduled hi/lo events?

t1

[Poker King]

I do schedule some, Most members like Hold'em and we don't get as good or turnouts in Omaha. I wish we would get better showings so we could have more of them.

[tinheads]

Well DUH!
If I learn how to play it well, I would play in some tournys lol

[t1tpfdc]

I do schedule some ...

too few, tho i must admit that those that are held are scheduled at times convenient for us in the EU ... thanks for that!

... Most members like Hold'em and we don't get as good or turnouts in Omaha ...

let's hear some numbers ...
had a series of events at [url=http://record.partnernordica.com/_52c5cdf5dee1545061c7310afe29d228/]PokerNordica[/u][/b][/color][/url] this month, maybe was TWheel, but no diff ... Omaha at times when i could play, and Hold'em when i couldn't.
what was the turnout for those tournaments? or the average for the two games, respectively? should not be difficult to check ... or?

t1

[Queen Admin]

Well DUH!
If I learn how to play it well, I would play in some tournys lol

LMAO!!    I hear ya!  Maybe the Poker King will give u some lessons.  If he can find the time.   

[Poker King]

First off some of my tips.

My Favorite stating hands always are double suited and have 2 high cards and 2 low. Example (Ace 3 of spades, 10 4 of clubs)

Now the Ace 3 4 give you a good chance for a low or a straight. The ace 10 also allows for a straight. The double suited gives me to chances for a flush. I hardly every play pocket pairs and will never play with trips in my hand or with all one suit.

As for betting I never want to force players out of a pot in HI/LO. 70% of the hands in High low will be a split pot so why try and buy a pot with more than one other player in it. I really like to have a few players between me and the other playing either betting the HI and LO. Small bets with raise with say 4 players in a pot will get you more chips rather then The high hand and the low hand being the only players in the pot wich is just a split and a wasted hand.

Now for some general Omaha

In order to have a hand qualify as low there must be no cards higher than 8 in your five card hand. A flush or straight is ignored when making a low hand. Therefore the lowest hand is A 2 3 4 5. Since in Omaha you must use two cards from your hand, there must be three cards on the board that are eight or lower. If there is no qualifying low hand the winner with the highest hand will win the whole pot.

Beware Ace – Deuce
Many players look at their starting four cards and if they see an A-2 they act as if they have just found the Holy Grail. They immediately raise with this hand which is wrong for several reasons. First, is the fact that in order to qualify for low there must be three more low cards on the board. This is not always the case and if three high cards come on the flop you are in big trouble. Another reason not to raise pre-flop with just A-2 is that if an ace or a deuce shows up on the board you hand will be counterfeited as you no longer can use your A or 2 unless a fourth low card shows p on the board by the river.

Getting Quartered
The final reason to consider when you raise with A-2 is the fact that every other player with A-2 will also be in the hand. If you do make your low instead of getting half the pot you will get half of the low pot which is a quarter. Being quartered will cost you money. For this reason you should not get into a raising war on the river in a multi-way pot with low only as one of the other players may also have the low. Example: There are three players in the hand. You start raising and you end up putting in and additional $20 in the pot as do the other two players. There is $60 in the pot from the three of you. One player turns over high and collects half the pot of $30. The other player turns over a low hand that ties you. You get $15 apiece even though you have contributed an additional $20 to the pot. You lost money by raising.

Scooping The Pot.
Your ultimate goal in Hi-Lo is to scoop the pot. Since you have four cards in your hand you can use any combination of two for the high hand and low hand. You may use two cards for high and two different cards for low. The ideal situation in Omaha is to have a hand that will win both the high hand and the low hand. The other way to win the whole pot is to have the highest hand and have no low hand possible.

Starting Hands
The four cards in your starting hand should be coordinated. This means they should work together. You want cards that can hopefully form a straight, flush or full house. Seldom does one pair win in Omaha. Some players think any four cards win and they should see every flop. This is a sure sign of a loosing player.

[Queen Admin]

Nice job on the tips Poker King!  Thanks! 

[SharBear613]

I found this information on a website.  Since I have been playing more Omaha lately, I have had the website up to look at while I am playing and it has helped me termendously!  Just wanted to pass it on:


General Strategy:
In Omaha High-Low the high hand winner must split the pot with the player with the best qualifying low hand. There is always a high hand winner but not always a low. For your hand to qualify for low, it must have five denominations no higher than an eight. Any two of your your four down cards are played for high and any two are played for low. Players must play exactly two out of their hands for each direction. Aces are played both high and low. Straights and flushes do not disqualify a hand for low, so a player ending with 5 4 3 2 A would have an unbeatable low hand and a 5 high straight to play for high. A player with this hand would have a good chance of winning both ways. He or she could also have another high hand better than the straight.
The most important thing to keep in mind in split pot games is the big profit difference between winning half the pot and "scooping" it all. - It is a lot more than just twice as much. . Scooping the pot usually builds a healthy addition to your stack of chips. Getting half often puts you barely ahead of where you were before you started playing the hand. Expert Omaha Hi Lo players only play starting hands, like those recommended here, that have a good chance of winning both ways. Omaha is a game of "nuts". With so many players with so many cards, finding so many reasons to play, a final hand with a fairly good high and a fairly good low can easily get clobbered by better hands both ways. So after the flop or maybe the turn, if it looks like you don't have an almost certain winner for one end and a decent shot at the other, or the best high hand with no qualifying low probable, you should usually fold up and wait for the next hand.
   
Definitions: Four Basic Card Groups
ACES - A
LOW CARDS - 5, 4, 3, 2
MIDDLE CARDS - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6
HIGH CARDS - K, Q, J     

Other Definitions:
WHEEL - (5 4 3 2 A). Can be played as the lowest possible hand, a straight for high or both.
SUITED PLAYER HAND (S) - Two of the players four cards of the same suit.
DOUBLE SUITED PLAYER HAND (DS) - Two of the players cards of one suit and two of another suit.
SET - Three of a kind with two of the three in your hand. (One in your hand and two on the board is "trips".)
NUT HAND - An unbeatable high or low hand. Sometimes called a "lock".
FLOP, TURN. RIVER - The community cards in the order of distribution. See top illustration.
SCOOP - Win both high and low ends of the pot or win it all with a high hand when there is no low.
FAST PLAY - Bet, raise and re-raise to get as many other players out as possible.
SLOW PLAY - Just check or call along to keep other players in the game and increase the pot odds.
CHECK-FOLD - Check when you can and fold if you are bet into. Gladly accept all free cards offered.     
       
Throw-Away Starting Hands:
These hands should be automatically folded without any further consideration:
Quads - (including) A A A A
Trip Threes thru Trip Kings - 3 3 3 X - K K K X
Three or more unpaired Middle Cards - X 6 7 9       

Playable Starting Hands:
Note: The best possible starting hand is AA23(DS)       
SOME TRIP ACES and TRIP DUECES - These only: 2AAA, 3AAA, 4AAA(S), 5AAA(S), 222A(S)
PAIR of ACES with LOW CARDS - AA23, AA44, AA35 etc.
PAIR of ACES SUITED with ANYTHING - Ah A Xh X
A2 with ANYTHING - A2XX
A3 with LOW CARDS - Paired or unpaired. A344,A345, A355
A3/ ACE SUITED with ANYTHING - Ad A Xd X
ACE SUITED with THREE UNPAIRED HIGH CARDS - Ac Jc Q K etc.
FOUR UNPAIRED LOW CARDS - 2345
TWO HIGH PAIR DOUBLESUITED - Kh Kd Qh Qd etc.
       
Strategy Tips:
Remember that you only play to scoop the pot, so after the flop, if your high hand is not a certain winner and will probably have to split with the low, or if you are playing for low and don't have a decent shot at the high hand, usually check/fold and get out early.
Slow play most Omaha hands. It is very difficult to run players off in this game and early raises are risky unless you know you can't lose.
Usually avoid playing middle suited connectors. Hands like 8h 9h that are often very playable in Holdem and Omaha high, are bad news in high-low split. To make the high end of a straight, you have to catch the cards that will also qualify low hands. To play these you also need a suited ace or an A2.
Don't overbet A2, A3 and 2 3 nut lows. These are often shared with another player and you can end up getting "quartered". In other words, if there are two playing the same nut low and one going high, you are in a situation where every bet you make contributes 1/3 to the pot that will only pay you 1/4 back. You do better if you can check around. Fast play in this situation only makes you money if there are three or more other players with either high or losing low hands.
Watch out for uniform flops, like 8 7 6, they can easily turn into straights that can overtake your high pair trips, or other good hand.
Beware of Suited Flops that can make a completed flush. In this case, you should usually hold the nut in that suit, or have trips or two pair that can fill up.
Check the raisers chips. Players that are close to all-in often rush the betting just to get all their chips in a sink-or-swim last hand.
Study your opponents, especially when you are not playing hands and can pay careful attention. Do they find more hands to play than they fold? Do they bluff? Can they be bluffed? Do they have any "tells" (give away mannerisms) that disclose information about their hands etc.
Get caught bluffing once in a while. It is a way to vary your play and not be too predictable. You win pots that you don't deserve when your bluff works. You lose a few chips when it doesn't work but it will get you calls from weaker hands down the line when you are really strong and need the action.
Pay very close attention to your cards. Omaha High Low hands can get confusing and it is sometimes easy to think you have a nut hand winner when you don't, or have the best possible hand and not realize it. Be careful to avoid these costly mistakes.

[puzzykat]

well said.  thanks for all the information.  i am processing it already. 

[tinheads]

Great info you two.

Very much appreciated