No Limit Omaha
Manyelements of Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) and No Limit Hold’Em (NLH) play are similar.However, there are key differences which distinguish the two games. Theincrease to four pocket cards, pot limit betting caps, and other variations yieldkey strategy differences between the two games. For players new to PLO, themost basic rule difference is that you must use exactly two hole cards and threeboard cards to create your hand. Think that’s easy? Well, see how often, whenfirst playing PLO, that you believe you’ve made a straight when you haven’t.
Here are thetechnical and strategy differences between PLO and NLH you need to look out for.
Buy No Limit Reunion Tour tickets at the Baxter Arena in Omaha, NE for Mar 26, 2022 07:30 PM at Ticketmaster. To qualify for a low hand, the highest card in the low must be no higher than an 8 - hence the name Omaha 8/b - 'Omaha Eight or Better'. So if you have A4678 as your lowest 5 unpaired cards, you.
Pre-flop Equity Differences in PLOare Much Smaller than in NLH
Most handsin PLO have no more than a 2:1 pre-flop equity advantage. For example, pocketaces in NLH have an average equity advantage of about 85/15 against any randomhand. In Omaha, holding two aces and two random cards is only about a 65/35advantage. So many combinations can hit a flop that even the raggiest startinghands have potential against very strong hands. What this means is…..
PLO Loves Action
The reduced differentialin PLO pre-flop equities means that players frequently have pot odds to enter ahand pre-flop, particularly in late position. While a VPIP (Voluntary Put Moneyin Pot) of 10%-15% in NLH would not be unheard of for a decent player, that samefrequency would be exceedingly tight for a PLO player. Even some very good PLO playersmay have a VPIP of 25%-30%. Of course, some players enjoy the shrunken equitydisadvantages far too much. Be prepared to open your ranges in PLO, but becautious about justifying entering every hand. Also, sharpen your board readingskills, because you’ll be seeing more flops than in NLH.
Position is even More Important inPLO
PLO is a drawinggame, and you want to be in position on your draws. In PLO, there is morecalling behind pre-flop than 3-betting, and more defense of 3-bets in position.If you are 3-betting pre-flop, it should be for value only, not as a bluff.While play is loose, you don’t want to increase the pot size too quickly beforethe board has unfolded. Out of position you should only be raising with premiumhands. Beyond that, try to keep the pot multi-way, which means more earlyposition limping than is typically seen in NLH.
Set Mine with Caution in PLO
While smallpair set mining in deep stack NLH games can be profitable, it should generallybe avoided in PLO. The odds of losing set over set, or a set losing to a straightor flush is much higher. A hand like 6633 should likely be discarded.
You Need Stronger Hands to Win atShowdown
In NLH, you can generally bet any flush with impunity. In PLOthere are times when, given the action, small flushes absolutely should befolded. Be judicious about your draws. When drawing to flushes or straights, youalmost always should be drawing to the nuts.
Also, while over-pairs are likely to call at least one raisein NLH, they are folding most of the time in PLO. Similarly, while two pair isa strong holding in NLH, it’s only a bluff catcher in PLO.
Suitedness Matters More in PLO
Experienced NLH players will play suited cards cautiously,understanding their limited increase in equity. However, double suited hands such as AsAd8s4d and Jh10h9c8c (for itsstraight potential as well) are considered among the top 10 hands in PLO. Lookat every Top 20 or 30 starting hand chart in PLO and it will come with the tag“All hands are double suited.” Suitedness, particularly double suitedness,matters in PLO.
If you are transitioning from NLH to PLO, attention to thedifferences above will save you a lot of heartache.
Table Of Contents
No Limit Omaha Strategy
What is Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker?
If you know how to play pot-limit Omaha (or 'Omaha high'), you are well on your way to learning how to play Omaha hi-lo.
As the name suggests, Omaha hi-lo is a 'split-pot' version of Omaha poker in which players compete for both the 'high' and 'low' halves of the pot. Omaha hi-lo is usually played with fixed-limit betting and often turns up in 'mixed game' formats like H.O.R.S.E. (in which Omaha hi-lo is the 'O') or the popular 8-game mix.
You will sometimes see the game referred to simply as 'Omaha 8' or even 'O/8' or more elaborately as 'Omaha hi-lo split-pot-8-or-better.' The name gets styled differently, too, as 'Omaha High-Low,' 'Omaha poker high-low' and so on.
Pot-limit and no-limit versions of Omaha hi-lo are also popular, especially online either as cash games or tournaments.
How to Play Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker
The basic rules for Omaha hi-lo are very similar to pot-limit Omaha. See 'How to Play Omaha Poker' for an overview of how to play Omaha poker, which is itself a variation on regular Texas hold'em.
Just like in pot-limit Omaha, players are dealt four cards in Omaha hi-lo and are required to use two of those four cards in combination with three community cards in order to make a five-card poker hand.
As in hold'em or pot-limit Omaha, if a player bets and everyone folds before the showdown, the player wins the pot without having to show a hand. However, if the final bet is called and there is a showdown, hands are examined to see who has the best 'high' hand and who has the best 'low' hand, with each winning one-half of the pot.
Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Rules
In Omaha hi-lo, the 'high' hand is determined exactly the same way as in hold'em or Omaha 'high' games (like PLO), following traditional hand rankings.
The 'low' hand requires a little more explanation, especially if you are new to split-pot games or hi-lo poker.
First of all, whatever cards you use to make your high hand, that makes no difference when making your low hand. You can use the same two cards, the other two cards, or any combination just as long as you use two cards from your four-card hand plus three of the community cards to build your five-card poker hand.
The rules of Omaha hi-lo is usually played with a 'qualifier' for the low hand, meaning all of the cards making up a low hand have to be ranked eight or lower. That's where the 'split-8-or-better' comes from, a phrase usually added to the name of the game.
A qualifying low hand consists of five unpaired cards ranked eight or lower. For the low hand, the ace is considered a low card (the lowest), while it can also serve as the highest-ranking card in high hands.
Also worth noting — if your lowest five cards make a straight or a flush, that doesn't matter in Omaha hi-lo, you've still got a low hand (if all are ranked eight or lower). In other 'lowball' games like 2-7 no-limit triple draw, flushes and straights hurt you by making your low hand higher, but in Omaha hi-lo that is not the case.
That means a hand consisting of 5-4-3-2-A would be the lowest possible hand — that is to say, the best 'low hand' in Omaha hi-lo. This hand is sometimes called a 'wheel.' The next lowest possible hand is 6-4-3-2-A. The worst low hand that qualifies as a low in Omaha hi-lo would be 8-7-6-5-4.
A good way to figure out which low hand is best is to arrange the hand from highest card to lowest card and then to think of the hand as a five-digit number, with the lowest number being the best (or lowest) hand. Thus 5-4-3-2-A (54321) is better than 6-4-3-2-A (64321), and 6-4-3-2-A is better than 6-5-3-2-A (65321) and so on.
An Example of an Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8-or-Better Poker Hand
Let's say a hand of Omaha hi-lo goes to showdown with the final board reading 6♣3♠K♦Q♦.
You hold A♣K♠7♦4♣, and your opponent has Q♠J♦4♦2♠.
Your best possible high hand is two pair, aces and kings — using the A♣ and K♠ in your hand pairing them with the ace and king on board, with the queen being a kicker.
Your best possible low hand is 7-6-4-3-A — using the 7♦ and 4♣ in your hand along with the three low cards on the board. Note how you can't use the ace in your hand when making your low hand, since you have to use exactly two cards in your hand and three on the board (and there is an ace on the board).
Your opponent, meanwhile, has you beat both for the high and the low!
Your opponent's best possible high hand is a flush — using the two diamonds in his hand (J♦ and 4♦) and the three diamonds on the board.
Your opponent's best possible low hand is 6-4-3-2-A — using the 4♦ and the 2♠ in his hand along with the three low cards on the board. 64321 is lower than 76431, so your opponent has you beat.
No Limit Omaha Poker
Winning both halves of the pot like this is called a 'scoop' or 'scooping,' which is something you always want to try to do when playing split-pot or hi-lo poker games.
Sometimes in Omaha hi-lo there is no qualifying low hand. This is the case whenever there are less than three unpaired cards ranked eight or lower on the board.
For example, if the board is 9♣K♦A♥4♥J♠, there are only two cards ranked eight or lower on the board (the ace and four), which means it is impossible for anyone to make a low hand. When that happens, whoever has the best high hand scoops the whole pot.
Conclusion
Omaha hi-lo is not difficult to learn, especially if you already know how to play pot-limit Omaha. The strategy can be complicated, though, with a great deal of importance placed on understanding what are strong starting hands (e.g., hands containing an ace with at least one or two low cards, especially a deuce) and not making the mistake of battling for only half of the pot (just the high or low).
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