Starting Hands

To get quickly to the point, there are four main types of hands you will come across when you're playing Omaha Hi Lo. They can be categorised as follows;

• Hands that give you a good chance to scoop both the high and the low half of the pot.
• Hands that are aimed primarily at winning the low half of the pot but which might, every now and then, have a shot at the high hand too.
• Those hands which can only possibly win the high half of the pot.
• Hands that should be discarded immediately. These make up the majority of the hands you'll be dealt in Omaha Hi Lo.

It isn't just important that your starting hand selection be at its best for Omaha Hi Lo, it's absolutely essential, especially at cash tables where you're not pressured by the rising blinds of tournament play. The aim should nearly always be to go into a hand hoping to be able to win both the high and the low halves of the pot. There are some starting hands which are best suited to that role and those are the ones you should be looking to play.

It's not always easy to make any profit if you're only going for one pot unless lots of opponents stay in the hand. You'll find yourself treading water if you keep going up against one player and looking to win half of the pot.

Many experts agree that the absolutely best starting hand you can hope for in a game of Omaha Hi Lo is to have A-2-3-4, with the Ace suited to one of the other cards, for example, Ah 2c 3s 4h. The strength of this hand is that it offers a great chance to scoop both halves of the pot. The suited ace offers a flush and even straight flush draw chance for the high hand, while affording the best possible opportunity to win any low hand.

With a starting hand of A-2-3-4 you are only 7-1 against making the lowest possible hand on the flop and are something close to even money to make that same lowest possible hand by the river! When you add in the high hand possibilities too you can see why it is such a strong hand in Omaha Hi Lo. Some would argue that A-A-2-3, with each Ace suited, is the strongest starting hand as this gives you two good chances of making the nut flush and also a full house. That hand does though have more chance of being counterfeited.

If you take a hand like Ac 2s Jc Kh into a pot then you have given yourself a great chance of making a nut flush, a high straight and the lowest hand. However, your A-2 has no protection against being counterfeited. If the flop were to come down 2-4-7 then you actually don't have a qualifying low hand. Even if the turn then brings, for example, a 5 then you now no longer have the lowest possible hand as you would be losing to someone who has A-3 in their hand. You would have 7-5-4-2-A, while your opponent would have 5-3-4-2-A.

For that reason it is always best, whenever possible, to have some protection for your low hands. Any hand containing A-2 is still very playable but always be aware that either an Ace or a 2 in the community cards will weaken or even completely ruin your low hand.

Because of the nut flush opportunities afforded it is always preferable to have an Ace that is suited with another card, while a double-suited hand is even better. A classic example of a double-suited hand is Ah Ac 2h 3c, which offers the chance of TWO high hand flush draws and also one card at protecting the draw for the lowest possible hand.

Of course, such good starting hands don't always come along as often as we'd like and so we need to look at some other great starting hands. Here are a few other examples which can be considered to be very playable;

Ad Kc 3d 4c - Another very strong starting hand, which gives you two shots at a flush and also some protection to make a strong play for the low hand.

As 2c 3s Any - You can get away with a weak fourth card if your other three are as well connected as those in this hand. You have a suited Ace for the high hand and three cards towards the low hand.

Ac Ad Kc Kd - You have sacrificed any chance of winning the low hand but you have a superb hand to go for the high half of the pot, with two flush draws, full house possibilities and the Broadway straight. If there is no qualifying low hand this is the sort of hand that could win the whole pot.

2c 3s 4d 5h - This is great for a shot at the low hand, though ideally you'd want to see an Ace to arrive in the community cards. If an Ace does come and there are two other low cards to make a low hand playable then you are guaranteed to have the lowest possible hand.

Ad Ac 5h 4c - You have a suited Ace for the flush and three cards towards making the strongest possible low hand - the wheel. If a 2 and a 3 do come over your wheel might, just possibly, be enough to win the high hand as well as the low hand. If the 2 and the 3 don't come over then be wary about over-betting your low hand.

Ah Ks Qc 10h - Again, this is a hand for the high half of the pot only. You have a suited Ace and a superbly connected set of hole cards. If all low cards appear on the flop, without at least two cards to play towards the flush, then this hand becomes pretty worthless and you should fold immediately.

Kh 2d 3h 4s - Your suited King gives you the chance of making a powerful flush, while the three low cards are ideal for making a low hand and offer some protection against being counterfeited. This is another hand where you'd like to see the Ace to come out on the board, to make your own low hand possibilities even stronger.

Jc 10s 9d 8h - A lot of inexperienced players will want to play this hand. While it does offer a chance of making the high hand you have to be extremely wary of high cards which could help somebody to make an even higher straight. It has no low hand possibilities whatsoever and if you're facing any bets and re-raises this sort of hand just isn't worth it.

Any hand that contains a suited Ace and a low card of 2 or 3 is playable, but always watch out that you're not quartered or counterfeited. Ideally, if you play A-3 then you want one of the low community cards to be a 2.

If your starting hands do not meet any of the above criteria then they're probably not worth playing in Omaha Hi Lo. Their percentage chances of making winning hands will be so low that you're probably going to lose money with them in the long run. Try to stick with the kind of hands listed above and you'll give yourself a much better chance of constructing winning hands, especially hands that can scoop both halves of the pot.

There are times in tournament play, when the pressure is on you, where you'll need to loosen up your starting hand requirements and play with the cards you're dealt, but ideally, and especially on cash tables, you should look to stick with the best starting hands possible.

In Omaha Hi Lo you should always assume that somebody with A-2 is still in the hand, especially if there are a lot of callers and even more so if there is a lot of pre-flop raising. Any hand containing A-2 is VERY popular with online players and they tend to bet it very aggressively. If you're going for the low hand with something like A-3 and a 2 comes out as one of the low cards then you should bet as aggressively as you can because anyone with A-2 has now been counterfeited on their 2.

One last thing; if you're going exclusively for the low hand and three cards of 9 or higher are dealt on the flop then you will have to muck your hand straight away. Never forget that there have to be three separately ranked cards of 8 or lower in the five community cards for there to be a possible low hand!