Omaha High Poker Strategy

The rules of Omaha hi-lo (or Omaha 8-or-better) are similar to those of standard Omaha. The only one peculiarity of the game is that the pot can be split between the 2 winning hands: the best high hand and the best low hand. These hands can be held by one and the same person.

To qualify for low, a player must be able to play an 8-7-6-5-4 hand or lower. An ace can be used for low. So, imagine that you have:





  Your opponent has:





And the pot after the River has come is:





In this case the pot is split because you qualify for low with A3456 and your opponent for high with his three-of-a-kind Jacks.
Now suppose another situation - you have:





  Your opponent has:





  And the board is:





In this case you do not qualify for the low hand as the highest card is 9 but not 8. So your opponent wins the entire pot.

The best starting poker hand in Omaha High is Ace-Ace-King-Queen double-suited.

Good starting poker hands in Omaha High contain: Suited aces, four-card connectors (10-J-Q-K), and two pairs as long as one is high.

If you have an A-A with two weak poker cards that do not add value to your hand, only play by raising if you are first-in from a late position, or if it has already been raises, no one else has called and you are in the last position. In the latter situation, you should make it three bets and attempt to run your opposition out of the pot.

Poker hands such as A-A-9-5 and A-A-9-4 shouldn't be played in any game except heads-up. One exception to this rule is the A-A-9-2 which could be played in some settings, but remember that A-A-9-3 is a weaker hand.

The closer your poker cards are to the A-A-2-3 double-suited hand, the better off you are. You can play these poker hands with aggression.
A-A-x-x hands, where x = high face cards, such as A-A-Q-J or A-A-Q-K, are better than the hands where x = a pair such as A-A-J-J or A-A-Q-Q.