After I lost my first 500 bucks on PartyPoker, for some odd reason, I hated hold em and decided to learn how to play Omaha. And not just regular Omaha, it was high/low. Haha, I don’t know why it happened, but it became my best and favorite game.
Initially, I was grinding back my 500 bucks on $10 SnGs. Those limit O8 games were so slow, but I learned all the basics of how to play O8. Eventually, I was playing PL games, and never went back to limit until I started HORSE. But there were a few things I learned then that I still use today.
First, before I start writing about O8, I want to recognize that a lot of what I learned was from a guy named Ribbo. He had his own site / blog that I constantly read, and he gave a bunch of great O8 tips. Now, he plays a lot more Omaha high, and he posts his hands on pokerhand.
So I’m assuming most players reading this have a basic understanding of O8. It is similar to Omaha, except that when there are at least 3 low cards on the board, there can be a low hand and the pot is split. If you don’t know the basics of Omaha, like the fact that you are dealt 4 cards instead of 2 and that you must use 2 out of those 4 cards, then I suggest reading up on Omaha before continuing.
Here is a good site to get started.
The most important thing to remember in O8 is to scoop. That means that your main goal is to win the whole pot. I know this sounds very common sense, but trust me, after years of playing O8, players keep making the same mistake over and over. They keep putting more money into the pot just so that they can win half the final pot.
For example, if you are holding TJQK and the board comes A58 and you have a draw to the nut flush, most bad players will see that draw until the river, and raise / fold depending on if they hit or miss.
DO NOT DO THIS!!
Any good O8 player folds this on the flop, especially if the pot was raised preflop. That is because you are drawing to win half the pot. There is no chance of you scooping this pot, because you cannot make a low hand. Someone could be freerolling you, and you don't want to risk your stack on a draw just to get your money back.
Another important point, if there are a lot of players in the hand, it is likely someone has or is drawing to the nuts, so always play strong hands that can become the nuts. Nothing sucks more than having a king high flush beat by the ace high flush.
Now, by remembering to scoop, players don’t get caught playing marginal hands like A68J or A77Q. A lot of new players see an ace, and they get way too excited and play them like it is the nuts. If there are a lot of players in the hand, A77Q will almost never win the low hand, and your only shot at winning the high is if a straight came (or a flush, which is why double suited (DS) hands are so strong). Obviously, any decent player can play any 4 cards, but those strategies will be for another time since they are more advanced.
In general, for new players, stick to strong starting hands. Those include A2’s or A3’s, hopefully with the ace suited (ace of diamonds, 2 of diamonds). Obviously, AA23 DS is the “best” O8 starting hand but always remember that Omaha is a game played after the flop, while games like hold em can be played pre or post – flop.
One last thing to remember, there will always be a high hand. There may not always be a low hand.
That will be it for now. I'll continue my Omaha strategies later, but I want to at least cover all the basics of the 5 games of HORSE before I move to advanced strategies. Next up, razz?
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