Omaha/8 is a split pot game, which means that unless someone scoops the pot it will be split. There are two ways to scoop the entire pot. The first is to have both the best high and low hands. The other way is to possess the best high hand when no hand qualifies for the low. The high hand in Omaha/8 is the identical to a winning.
Omaha 8, also known as Omaha Eight or Better, or Omaha high low split ('Hi/Lo'), is a split pot game. The best high hand wins half of the pot, and the best low hand wins the other half of the pot. Much like its cousin, Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 or Better involves four hole cards for each player. Bart gives you his best tips for how do to well in Omaha 8 tournaments.If you want to call in with a hand or question for Bart use the number 323 348 1281. Omaha Hi/Lo Strategy. Omaha Hi/Lo (8 or better) is currently the most popular split-pot poker game in the world. It is important to understand the rules of Omaha before playing Omaha Hi/Lo. While Omaha is very similar to Texas Hold'em, many new Omaha players get confused by the 'must use two hole cards and only two hole cards' rule.
Not long ago, I wrote a post about 7 card stud high-low split, so it’s only natural to follow thatup with a discussion of Omaha 8. Like its studly cousin, Omaha 8 is also called Omaha 8 or better and Omaha high-low split.
In fact, it probably should have been written first. Omaha 8 is exponentially more popular than stud 8 – especially in Europe.
At its heart, Omaha poker is just a variation of Texas hold’em with 4 hole cards instead of 2. (You still get 5 community cards on the board in Omaha.) Including the high-low split aspect, thegame takes on an entirely different dimension. This just means that the highest possible poker hand splits the pot with the lowest qualifying low hand.
I mentioned in my post about 7 card stud 8 that pots in these high-low games often get larger than the pots in other games. That’s because players see twice as many possibilities to win a pieceof the action. The reality is that a tighter strategy is usually correct for 8 or better games.
But Omaha has another factor contributing to those large pots. When you put 4 cards into a player’s hand to start with (instead of 2 or 3), many players see more possibilities than they wouldotherwise. This drives more action, too.
There’s an old saying “Never let the odds stop you from doing in your heart what you know you should do.”
Up to a point, I like this saying. Poker is all about heart: Players with courage and conviction, plus the ability to read their opponents, are often the most successful. But as a maths guy, I also think that it helps to have a good understanding of the stats. If nothing else, you need to know the odds which you are disregarding! This is especially true in the limit games, where you can’t blast your opponent off a hand with a big raise.
On this page I’m going to be adding various O8 odds and stats over the coming weeks. It’s quite a big project, so we’ll take it step by step. My main source is going to be the excellent site ProPokerTools. I also recommend Wikipedia’s Omaha Probability page. I will refer to other sources as appropriate.
A2 hands
A starting hand containing a bare A2 (with two high cards) can expect to make a low on the flop 7% of the time. This increases to 21% by the turn and 37% by the river. In other words, with a bare A2 you will make a low a little more than one third of the time when the hand is played out to the river.
Note also that when you make a low on the flop, you will be counterfeited (by another A or 2 falling on the turn or river) approximately one time in every four, in which case your hand could become worthless.
You can expect to have the nut low (whether on your own or shared) 25% of the time.
A23 hands
A starting hand containing A23x (where x is a high card) can expect to make a low on the flop 12% of the time. This increases to 31% by the turn and 49% by the river. You can expect to have the nut low on the river 43% of the time.
The significant advantage that A23 has compared against A2 is the protection against being counterfeited. On a flop of 678, for example, the A23 should only expect to be counterfeited by runner runner cards 2% of the time. On a flop of 458, a counterfeit A, 2 or 3 will of course make you a very welcome wheel.
The strong counterfeit protection afforded by A23 along with the increased wheel potential shows why this is generally regarded as a ‘capping’ hand pre flop.
A single suited Ace
Omaha 8 is all about scooping, and nothing provides better scooping potential than a suited A2. So how often can we expect to make a flush with a suited Ace?
With a single suited Ace, you can expect to flop a flush just under 1% of the time. You will make a flush 3.3% of the time by the turn, and 7% by the river. For those who like playing your flush draws strongly (a particularly good idea when you also have a low draw), you should expect to flop four to a flush (e.g. one card needed to make a flush) 13% of the time.
Double suited Aces
With double suited Aces, the probability of making a flush by the river is (not surprisingly) twice that of the single suited ace. So you will flop a flush 2% of the time, make a flush on the turn 6.7 of the time, and make a flush on the river 14% of the time. If your hand also has decent low potential (with another wheel card) you should certainly be looking to cap the pot pre flop if you can.
Bare Aces
If you’ve read my book Winning at Hi Low Poker then you’ll know that I think bare Aces are the most over-rated hands in Omaha 8. Aces with wheel cards, or holding single or double suited Aces gives you more than one way to win a hand. However bare Aces such as AA78 or AA99 are asking for trouble. The problem is that unimproved Aces will find it difficult to hold up in a multi-way pot, and their scope to improve is limited. For example:
– There is only a 10% chance that AA78 will make a full house or better by the river.
How To Play Omaha 8 Or Better
– If the hand is unsuited, then there is only a 21% chance that it will make a straight or better by the river.
In a heads up pot this may be sufficient, but multi-way you will often find yourself second or even third best. For example, against two other opponents with random hands, AA78 unsuited holds only 44% equity. AA99 unsuited has a deeply unimpressive 35% equity against two other players with random cards.
Omaha 8 Odds
Moral of the story: If you hold bare Aces, then try to get the pot heads up if you can. Strongly consider discarding the weakest Aces, especially where the pot is multi-way or has already been raised and re-raised.
Want To Play Hi Low Omaha
Coming next
Omaha Hi Lo
Next I’ll be covering marginal hands, including Kings and wheel cards e.g. 2-3-4-x. Any other requests, let me know.