Omaha Strategy:
Starting Hands for 8- Hi/Lo
by
Bill
Burton
This lesson
teaches
Omaha Strategy including starting hands at the
How
to Play Poker program.
Omaha 8 also
know as Omaha Hi/Lo is a split pot poker
game where the player with
the high
hand
splits the pot with the player with the low hand. Your ultimate goal
when
playing Omaha
8 is to have the hand
that wins both the High and the low. This is known as
“scooping the pot.”
In Omaha,
it is
possible to have a tie for the low hand and this occurs more often than
you
might realize. When a tie occurs, the players split the half of the
pot,
they do
not get a third.
For example: If one player has the high hand and two players
tie for the low hand, the player with t he high hand gets half the pot
but the
two players with the low hand get only a quarter of the pot each.
Choosing a starting hand for Omaha 8 can be a difficult task
especially for a new player. Many players
look at
their four hole cards and look for a reason to play. Some players think
any
four cards can win and they should see every flop. This is a sure sign
of a
losing player.
The four cards in your starting hand need to 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.
The Best Starting
Hand
Omaha
Strategy
Because
you want to scoop the pot in Hi-Lo your will usually
need to hold of an ace if you expect to win the low half of the pot.
The best starting hand is A-A-2-3 Double suited.
Double
suited means that the
A-2 is suited and the A-3 is suited as well.
This gives you
a good chance at the nut flush in two
different suites. It also has possibilities for a straight as well. If
an Ace
and a 2 or 3 appears on the board, your hand will not be counterfeited
and you
have the best shot at the nut low as well.
Point Count: Omaha Strategy
One method for choosing a starting
hand is to use a point
count method. To do this each card combination in your hand is assigned
a value
and you add together all the points to determine the strength of your
four-card
hand.
Here is how it works.
For High: Omaha Strategy
Pairs:
Aces count as 30 points. Kings = 13, Queens
= 12, Jacks = 11 and all other pairs equal their face values. A pair of
5’s is
worth five points.
Flushes:
Two card flushes count 10 points with an ace. All others
count 4 points. Three or four of same suite count as half.
Straights:
Two card straight with no gap or one gap count as 2 points.
(Ex: 8-9 or 8-10)
High Cards:
Unpaired Ace = 4 points,
King = 2points.
For Low Hands:
Omaha Strategy
A-2 = 20 points
A-3 = 15 points,
2-3 = 10 points
A-4 = 10, 2-4, 3-4 = 5 points
2-3 =10
A-5, 2-5, 3-5, 4-5 = 5 points
Add up the points for your four cards for the high count and
the low count. Add them together. It takes 25 points to call, 40 points
to
raise and 50 points to re-raise.
If you are in the small
blind, you can complete
your bet with 10 points.
A Good Foundation
for
Omaha
Strategy
I found this point count method to be one of the
easiest
ways to give me a practical estimation of my hand strength. While it is
not the
only way to choose a starting hand it is the best one to use if you are
new to
the game or even an experienced player who has not been having much
success
playing Omaha.
It is easy to miss some combinations of hands when you are
looking at four stating cards. This point count method helps put thing
in
perspective. It will also help you avoid some of the downfalls that
Omaha
players encounter. The biggest one is overvaluing big pairs or hands
containing
a single ace but now 2 or 3.
Omaha
Strategy is followed by Hi-Lo Poker game versions
OR
How to Play Poker 1
Program
OR
Learn
Poker Games 2
Gambling
Teachers Home
GT is attentive about getting the word out about our free
programs, lessons and add-ons offered, however, we ask your assistance
and consideration in promoting us.
Click link below that reads, "Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward.
Here's how..." to add a link to your site, blog or personal page.