Omaha Hi Strategy

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. Omaha Hi Lo 8b Strategy. Omaha Hi Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or Omaha Eight or Better) is a “split pot” version of the popular Omaha poker game. In this version of the game, there are two winning hands in each round: the high winner and the low winner. The high hand winner is the player with the highest value winning hand – the same as in the standard version of Omaha.

Fixed Limit Omaha Hi-Lo is an exciting poker variant that enjoys a great deal of popularity among poker players all over the world.

If Omaha players use the following tips and strategies, they can definitely play a winning game of Fixed Limit Omaha Hi-Lo.

Omaha

Valuable Strategies

A typical Fixed Limit Omaha Hi-Lo tournament comprises three major stages:

  • Early Stage
  • Middle Stage
  • Later Stage

Needless to say, the strategies that players must use vary from one stage to the other, and players should learn the art of employing the correct strategy at the correct time in order to win the fixed limit tournament.

Early stage – Players need not have the ideal starting hand to get started. In fact, they can make their way to the flop even with a mediocre hand, provided they are ready to fold if the required card does not fall their way. Players should also focus on hands that have the potential to win at least half the pot, if not the entire pot.

The tables are populated with loose, inexperienced, and weak players during the early stages of the poker tournament, and players should observe their opponents carefully and analyse their behaviour so that they can make the best moves and eliminate some of the fish.

Middle stage – The blinds begin to rise during the middle stages, and players must now start focusing on their chip stack. They should also not hesitate to fold if their hand is not showing any potential of winning. On the other hand, if they have a really good hand, they should not hesitate to raise as this is a nice way to build the pot.

Strategy For Omaha Hi Lo Poker

Later stage – Players in the later stages of a fixed limit Omaha Hi-Lo tournament often wonder if they should slow play and build the pot or just rush the game to the heads-up phase. Again, players need to have a really good hand if they want to call or raise in the later stages of the tournament.

5 Card Omaha Hi Strategy

Discover How to Play Omaha Poker with exclusive tips from the below video

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FL Omaha Hi-Lo Tips

Here are a few tips to help players win a Fixed Limit Omaha Hi-Lo game.

Hand Strength – Hand strength is of great importance in case of this poker variant, and players should make sure that their starting hand has the potential to win both halves of the jackpot.

Omaha Hi-lo Strategy

The best starting hands comprise suited aces as players can use these to make either a flush or a good low hand. Since the win percentage of strong hands is only 30%, players should ensure that the cards they require are not on the table before attempting to play a flush.

How to avoid quartering – Players are said to be quartered when they lose the strong half of the pot and share the low half of it with an opponent. This happens when players play a hand containing only an ace and a deuce and no other low-value card. If players make sure that they have at least another low-value card along with the deuce and the ace, quartering can be avoided.

Complementary starting hands – The rules of Omaha Poker require players to create a hand using 2 cards from their hand and three community cards. So players must make sure that each card in their hand can work collaboratively in helping them create a good hand.

Using position to advantage – Many Omaha beginners make the mistake of playing too many hands when they are in the early position. Players in the early position should play a tight game; in other words, they should fold all hands that do not have the potential to win. They simply cannot afford to take chances with mediocre or weak hands because their position is not in their favour.

Players who are in a late position, however, can watch their opponents make a move and then come to a decision based on their opponents’ moves. If too many opponents raise, players in the late position had better fold weak or mediocre hands; otherwise, they can risk playing a mediocre hand.

Bluffing – Since Fixed Limit Omaha Hi-Lo tables are populated with fish, sharks can always try a bit of bluffing to steal the pot. If the fish refuse to fold, players can cut down on the bluffing and try placing more bets to scare them off the table.

Getting the Edge in Omaha Hi Lo Poker

In order to play consistently profitable Omaha Hi Lo, you have to have an edge; and the best edge to have is to be respected as a solid Omaha Hi Lo poker player who is unreadable.

Becoming a solid Omaha Hi Lo poker player requires discipline and the ability to calculate a hands´ outs in relation to the pot odds of winning the hand. However, if you develop this table persona too rigidly, every other player in a game of Omaha Hi Lo poker will fold any time you raise a pot and you will never have the opportunity to take down the really big pots that make Omaha Hi Lo such a profitable game for good players. Therefore, Secret #1 is to deliberately get caught bluffing.

When you get caught bluffing it is important that you follow the betting actions that you would if you have a good starting hand. If you try to get caught bluffing by limping into a pot, that will become a ‘tell’ that other players will use against you – one that will be very expensive in the long run. Therefore, although you may lose a little money when you get caught bluffing, it will encourage other players to remain in hands when you have the best hand – rather than fold their cards at the first sight of a raise.

Limit Omaha Hi Strategy

Secret #2 is to bet heavily during the pre-flop and post-flop action when you have a good starting hand. Whereas there is often a considerable amount of luck involved in Texas Hold´em, the best starting hand often prevails in Omaha Hi Lo poker, and provided you are getting value from the pot each time you bet, over a period of time that value will translate into profit.

Secret #3 has already been mentioned on our ‘Omaha Hi Lo Strategy’ page, but it is so important that it is worth mentioning again – Don´t get carried away with A2xx when the “xx” cards have no real chance of winning a hand by themselves. A2xx is the equivalent of AQ in Texas Hold´em – acknowledged to be the most expensive hand you can be dealt.

Omaha Hi Lo Tournament Strategy

If the flop is dealt with none or one Lo card, there is little chance of there being a qualifying Lo hand and, unless you have been lucky and the board has connected with your other two cards, you will be wasting all the money you put into the pre-flop action when you muck your hand.

Secret #4 is to play above your Texas Hold´em bankroll. Many players making the transition from No Limit Texas Hold´em to Omaha Hi Lo will head for the tables with the same buy-in as they have been used to. However, with many Omaha Hi Lo pots having a relatively greater value than those played for in Texas Hold´em, and many of those pots being split between two winners, you can double the stake limit at which you play Omaha Hi Lo.

As we mention on our ‘Home Page’, one of the best reasons for playing Omaha Hi Lo Poker is that each hand often has two pots, which enables players to collect ‘Player Points’ at a faster rate to clear poker bonuses quicker and take advantage of online poker sites VIP programs (or increase your rakeback). If you play on an Omaha Hi Lo table with double the stakes of a Texas Hold´em table, you will clear a poker bonus or reach higher status levels in the sites VIP program in half the time.

The Best Online Poker Sites to Play Omaha Hi Lo Poker

It is no secret to anyone that PokerStars is the best online poker site to play Omaha Hi Lo Poker as there is always plenty of action at the biggest poker site in the world, whereas on others it can be difficult during off-peak times to find a few tables to play on.

However, everybody already has a PokerStars account, and players looking for some free poker money for opening an account elsewhere should look at 888 Poker – which has a strong Omaha Hi Lo community – or Poker 770, where there is usually tables open at all stake levels throughout the day.

Omaha Hi Lo Strategy Advanced

Players from the States should have a look at Carbon Poker, who host a number of Omaha Hi Lo poker tournaments with guaranteed prize money, or those with deeper pockets might like to apply their poker skills at Lock Poker – where much of the action takes place at higher stake levels.