Omaha High-Low Quiz #1

[Matt]

You are on the button with 9-9-8-7 double-suited. Five players limp in front of you. You would play this type of hand for one bet in a high-only game. How do you play this hand in Omaha High-Low? Why?

Note: If you are unfamiliar with the rules of Omaha High-Low, see Robert's Rules of Poker at http://www.pokercoach.us/RobsPkrRules7.mht.

[Matt]

I'm happy that someone other than Nima and myself responded to this poll. Folding is the right play. Can anyone say why this hand is playable in Omaha High but not in Omaha High-Low?

[Matt]

The goal of Omaha High-Low, and every other split-pot game, is to scoop the pot. "Scooping" happens when a player wins the entire pot by holding both the high and the low; a player can also scoop by holding the best high hand when there is no low possible.

Both Omaha High and Omaha High-Low are drawing games. It's rare for a hand to win unimproved. Because players have four hole cards instead of two, it's extremely important to draw only to the nuts. (This is only true in loose games where straightforward play will usually win; high-limit games require a little more deception).

Hands composed of middle cards, like 9-9-8-7, will hardly ever be able to scoop the pot. Suppose the flop comes 4-5-6 of different suits. You have the nut straight, but there are also three low cards on the board. With so many players in the hand, you can only win half the pot. There is also a chance that you can be outdrawn if the board pairs, making a full house possible; someone could even catch a runner-runner flush. If there is no low draw on the flop, it will be hard for you to make the nuts. If the flop comes Q-J-10 you will have to ditch your hand most of the time. The best you can hope for is a straight flush or quads.

This hand is relatively weak in Omaha High, but it is still playable. In High-Low, however, middle cards should almost always hit the muck.

[Matt]

By the way, if anyone is interested in learning Omaha, Bob Ciaffone's Omaha Poker is a great place to start. It's short, but highly informative. Bobby Baldwin also has a great section on Omaha/8 in Super/System II.

[Steve-O]

The worst hands in Omaha hi/lo are the ones where all cards are between 4-8.

As this is my strongest game I'll extrapolate a little on this: A2 is your starting point to play any hand pre-flop, without an A2 you will have to have 3 or 4 specific cards to even consider playing your hand.

Now that i think about this I'll create an Omaha 8 starting hand blog post.....