• Omaha Low Hand
• How To Read Omaha Low Hands Online
• How Do You Read Low Hands In Omaha
• How To Determine Low Hand In Omaha

Next to Texas Holdem, Omaha Hi Lo is the most popular poker game played both live and online. Commonly referred to as Omaha 8 or better, this game is easily confused by new players who have yet to grasp the concept of how to read their hands. There are two significant differences between Omaha Hi/Lo and Texas Holdem. The first being that players will have four hole cards and five community cards, with the object of the game to use two of the hole cards with three of the community cards. This is a must not an option and is the biggest mistake players make. Secondly, Omaha Hi Lo awards one or two pots depending on the hands at showdown. Players will play for the best hi hand AND the best lo hand, whereas Texas Holdem only awards one pot, and that’s too the winner.

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. If you get confused by how your cards are paired or counterfeited by the board, at the showdown, show your hand and ask the dealer to read exactly what your low hand is. Omaha is a game of nut hands, so as hands unfold, practice reading what the nut low hand is. Then start thinking of your low hand in relation to the nut low.

The rules in both games are essentially the same, and players will follow the same hand rankings. With the hi and lo hands in play, players should understand that all lo hands must consist of any card up to 8. Anything over 8, and it qualifies for hi. We mentioned the goal was to make the best high hand or low hand, but realistically speaking, the object is to make both high and low as that’s where the money really is. You want to scoop the entire pot, not split it with someone else. To do this you need to understand your starting hands, what qualifies as a great starting hand in Omaha Hi Lo and how to win both high and low. Being able to scoop the pot can significantly increase your bankroll, and is an excellent PLO cash game strategy.

Omaha Hi Lo – Playing for the Low

The majority of novice players mistaken the low pot and will often play for low without being able to draw to the nut-low. The best possible lo hand in Omaha Hi Lo is the same as Razz and consists of 5432A, otherwise referred to as the “Wheel”. Lo Omaha hands do not take straights or flushes into consideration. If there is no qualifying lo hand, the entire pot will be awarded to the player with the best Omaha hi hand.

Careless Reads = Careless Mistakes

We all know reading your hand wrong is careless and novice players often confuse the number of cards they can use with their hands. They also have a tendency to mistaken the actual strength in their hands. Much of this has to do with understanding what qualifies as a low hand when holding an Ace and just how strong that low hand is – whether it’s the low nut or not. As an example, we know that 5432A is the best low hand possible, but what if you hold 6538A and your opponent has 72364 – who wins? Novice players would assume the A hand would win because A is the lowest ranked card when playing low. This is not the case, and a mistake that will cost you a fortune over time. To rank a hand as low the dealer will use the lowest high card and move from there. 72634 will win the pot because the first high card in that particular hand is lower than the first high card in the 6538A.

To simplify it a bit better we’ve created a few hand examples showing a high low split, a high only hand, a low only hand which will help you understand who actually wins the pot in Omaha Hi Lo and why.

Example #1
Player #1 – A Q 5 5

Player #2 – 6 4 7 K

Board – A Q 2 5 J

In this hand example Player #1 takes the high pot with trip 5’s while Player #2 takes the low pot of 6542A. Player one misses the low hand

Example #2
Player 1 – 3 5 A 6

Player 2 – 3 2 6 Q

Board – A 4 2 K 5
These hands make it a bit trickier. In this hand here we can see that BOTH players have the wheel (5432A) however Player 1 has the nut flush A K 5 4 2 . Since the two players tie for low, the dealer would than chop the low pot between both players and award the entire high pot to Player 1 since he’s the only player with the highest ranked hand. The split in the low pot is often referred to as being quartered. Simply put the player ends up receiving only 1/4 of the pot instead of 1/2. Quartering your opponents is an excellent strategy to use. If you find yourself playing for both pots and you know your opponents are playing for one side or the other, your best strategy is to continue to bet and increase the amount of the pot. Often times you’ll find novice players will make the mistake of assuming they are the only one with lo and will assist in the process by making careless raises.

On the opposite side if your gut instinct tells you your quartered, your best option is to keep the pot as small as possible. In a FL Omaha game this is fairly easy but in PL or NL you can pretty much guarantee the player who’s quartered you will be pushing the pot to full value. If your opponent bets do not raise him or reraise.

Like any game, starting hands are very important especially in Omaha Hi Lo. You need to start with a hand that will allow you to scoop both pots not split them. You also don’t want to be put into a situation similar to our second example where you end up tying for high or low only. That’s a sure fire way to lose your bankroll quickly. Opposite of playing Omaha 8, your worst starting hands are those which only play for one pot such as AKQJ or A234. Aim for two not one.

Omaha Hi Lo – Starting Hands and Position

Since we know that AKQJ is a terrible starting hand, what makes a good starting hand? You really want to aim for double suited connecting cards, specifically AA23 double suited or A234, AAxx, 2345 etc. Be careful with your low hands. Don’t play with a non low nut and if you do play your hand with caution. Players really want an A in their hand simply because it gives you a good starting point to aim for both pots. If you don’t have an A, and your high hand is mediocre at best you really need to be careful of what you’re willing to risk and how much. Some aggressive betting on the right board will is generally a pretty good indication that someone has the low hand and will milk it for all its worth. These situations are the ones you want to avoid and will help save some unnecessary betting. Position is equally important in Omaha Hi Lo as it is in other poker games. Limping with mediocre hands should only be done in late position. Likewise you really shouldn’t play for low unless there are two low cards already in play on board and your drawing to the low nut. Not only could your hand lose to a better low hand, but drawing to the low is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make.

For those players new to Omaha Hi-Lo making errors reading the board are fairly common. This article will show you how to read the board for both the high hands and the low hands to help you avoid those costly mistakes!

The golden rule of Omaha poker is this – to make a hand at showdown you must use 2 cards from your own 4 card personal hand and 3 from the board. No other combination is accepted – 2 and only 2 from your hand 3 and only 3 from the community card board.

In Omaha Hi-Lo reading the board is complicated by the fact that high and low hands are assessed independently at showdown. This means that it is possible for the 2 cards from your hand that you use to be part of both the high and low hands – especially true in the case of aces which are the lowest card and can also make top pair.
The following examples will help you to understand how hands are calculated at showdown in Omaha poker. We have included high-only hands, low only hands and ‘scoop’ hands which make both a high and low.

Reading The Board In Omaha Hi-Lo – High Only Hands

Community Cards: 7-7-7-5-Q
Your Cards: 3-3-A-Q

Here your best hand is a full house, sevens full of 3’s – since you must use 2 cards from your hand the queen can not make a higher full house. Any opponent with a pair higher than 3’s will beat you on this board, we should also note that this pot would not be split with a low – since this would require 3 different low cards on the flop.

Community Cards: 5-6-7-8-9 (All Spades)
Your Cards: 10 (spades)-5-5-5

Here you do not have a straight flush or even a straight! Since you must use 2 cards from your own hand the best hand you can make on this board is in fact trip 5’s. Any opponent holding 2 spades will beat you here, as will any opponent holding a 4 or 10 + one card from the board, combinations such as 10-J or 3-4 or someone holding 2 of the cards from the board – a dangerous situation!

Reading The Board In Omaha Hi-Lo – High And Low Hands

Community Cards: 5-6-8-Q-K (4 different suits)
Your Cards: A-2-7-9

Omaha Low Hand

Here you have both the strongest possible low using your Ace and Two and the best possible high with your seven and nine – the ‘nuts’ in both the high and the low pots is what you are aiming for in Omaha Hi-Lo, here you will likely scoop the pot or win 3/4ths of the pot if you end up sharing the low side with an opponent.

How To Read Omaha Low Hands Online

Community Cards: A-3-6-K-K (3 hearts)
Your Cards: A(hearts)-3 (hearts)-4 –Q

How Do You Read Low Hands In Omaha

This was an goodt starting hand in Omaha Hi-Lo however this time by the river you have no low hand and a vulnerable high hand. To make a low you need 5 different cards 8 or below, here you can only complete 4 low cards (using ace-four). You have the nut flush using the 2 hearts from you hand. However the board has paired on the end – meaning any opponent with a pair of aces, threes, or sixes, or a single king along with a single ace, three or six now has a full house.

Community Cards: A-A-3-7-J
Your Cards: A-2-4-J

How To Determine Low Hand In Omaha

Here you have a monster hand, using the ace and jack you have the best possible full house and using the 2 and 4 from your hand you have made the best possible low. Bet this hand at every opportunity – monsters like these do not come around too often!!