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Omaha High-Lo Basic

By Deanna Couras Goodson

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My game of choice is Omaha Hi-lo, or, as it may be more commonly known as Omaha 8s or better (8/b is how you'll often see it online). It's a mixed game which means that you have two ways to win a pot - either by having the best or the worst hand.

In this game you get 4 hole cards. There are 5 community cards. The first 3 make up the flop, the 4th is called the 'turn' and the 5th is the 'river' as in standard Hold 'Em games. You can only use 2 cards from the pocket and 3 from the board to make either the nut high or the nut low hand.

A 'wheel' is the nut low. That's the A,2,3,4,5. Suits don't matter in the low; but, they do in the high. To win a 'high' hand, you will need 3 of a kind, a straight, a flush or a full house most of the time. On a rare occasion 2 pairs will win. This is not a game for bluffing; but rather, skill. The best hand(s), not the biggest bet (unless, of course it's accompanied by the nuts) wins.

A low hand can only be made if there are 3 low-cards on the board. For example, if you're holding an A,2,3,5,7 and the board has a J,6,4,9,10, you don't have a lo-hand. If no one has a low hand or there aren't 3 low cards on the board, the high hand wins it all; otherwise, the low and the high split the pot fairly evenly.

Got that? No?

OK. Here's another example of low hand. If you're holding an A,J,2,8,10 and the board has 4,3,6,10,J on it, well you have an A,2,3,4,6 for the low and can be pretty sure that you will win the low portion of the pot.

A high hand is what you'd play in Omaha Hi. Suits count. If you have a hand that makes a good winning hand in blackjack, then you've got a shot at the nut high. Pocket pairs are okay, but pocket trips are not. Full houses will often win it all; but, you can lose to a higher full house (this often happens to me and it's quite frustrating, I tell you). Calculate your outs and remember it's only 2 from the pocket and 3 from the board; but all other Hold 'Em rules apply.

Omaha hi-lo is great fun to play in large part because so many people dabble in it. They're not experts - YET. If you get in on the ground-floor and learn to play it well now, then you can consistently profit from your play

Have fun and happy hi-lo hunting!

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