Starting Hands
If any two cards can win at Hold 'em surely any four cards can win in Low Limit Omaha!
you will usually have a clear call on the flop whether you want to continue or not.
Well yes, it is possible, but the number of playable hands in Low Limit Omaha is actually very similar (some might argue it's even more
restrictive) than the playable hands in Low Limit Hold 'em. Low Limit Omaha is a game of nuts, and no that doesn't mean you have to be
crazy to play.
Like Low Limit Hold 'em you want hands that can turn into the nuts, however unlike Low Limit Hold 'em you actually need them to
really turn into the nuts (or at least a draw to the nuts).
The best hand, therefore, in Low Limit Omaha hi-lo is:
The best possible pocket pair plus an extremely strong low kit (A23) and double suited on the aces.
In general we recommend the following starting hands:
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Group 1 Hands: Play in any position for any number of raises.
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Part of the strength of all of these is that you will usually have a clear call on the flop whether you want to continue or not. Most basically the hands are usually
geared toward a low board (A2xx style hands) or a high board (AKQJ or big pair hands) So if you flop the wrong type of board for god's sake get out!
If you've capped the betting preflop with an A234 and the board comes KKJ you can simply drop your hand and not lose too much sleep about it.
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Group 2 Hands: Play for a single raise in all positions, fold multiple raises in early position..
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Note that all of these hands in Group 1 and Group 2 are as listed "or better". So KKTT is a Group 2 hand which means so is
KKJJ and KKQQ. In the special case of AxxT it means any two cards between Ace and Ten (but never trips or quads!), so AKQT AQJT, AKJT, AKKJ, AQJJ AJTT and so on.
With all this in mind, you want to really really value hands that have A23 in them and really really be cautious with hands that have only
A2 and two "junk" high cards in them like A29K unsuited. These are hands that can trap you for a lot of bets only to be counterfeited
at the end and sometimes you'll need to dump them on the flop even if you do flop the nut low (against several raising opponents with a flush on the
board for example)
Card Suitedness
In a small stakes Omaha game the only suited cards that will make a difference are the ones that create nut flush draws (or actual flushes) on the flop.
In other words suited aces and to a much lesser degree suited kings (when an ace of that suit flops). Having suited cards in your hand (and having exactly
of the suit--having four clubs in your hand lowers your flush chances significantly) always increases your chance of winning at the end, but during the play
of the hand you can only be aggressive with nut flushes and nut flush draws.
Beyond A23x
A23x hands are nice because if low cards flop you have an excellent chance of having the nut low or a very hard to counterfeit draw to the nut low.
This is half the battle and of course you want to play hands that let you continue past the flop and hopefully win. However because your goal is to
scoop both the high and low end of the pot you should adjust your post-flop aggressiveness with based on how likely it is for you to scoop. If you
are playing for only half the pot you really don't want to lose any customers (raise anyone out of the hand)
You're never going to fold A23 before the flop of course, but what about after the flop? Well, with a flop like:
You're definitely going to be seeing the river card with this hand, but how you play it during the hand is going to depend what the "x"
is in A23x. Remember what your goal is in Omaha (or any high/low split game)... You want to scoop the pot.
Are you going to scoop the pot with a hand like:
here? For the most part you will not. Even if you do land a 5 on the board someone is often going to have a higher straight.
What this means is that you want to play this hand pretty passively if there is action. Of course if it is checked to you and you are on the dealer
button then you want to bet it, but if it is bet to you, you do not want to raise it because you want to have as many callers as
possible with this hand.
Let's change the situation a little bit. Suppose your hand instead was:
I'm sure you can see the difference in this situation. Not only do you have a locked up low hand you also have a respectable high hand with outs to
other high hands through backdoor draws. This changes the dynamic of your hand greatly so that you stand an excellent chance of getting 3/4 of the pot
and potentially scooping if, for example, someone is calling you down with A2 and an A or 2 comes on the river, and you are
freerolling against a hand like:
who flopped the nut straight without a low and will be very willing to dump a lot of money into their hand.
The first hand is ok (A23K rainbow) and the second hand (A235 double suited) is great. You need to be able to see the difference.
Wheel Plus
A trick of the trade in Omaha is to combine the nut low draw with something that fits on the top of a wheel should it appear on the flop.
A couple of hands like this would be:
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On a flop like
You'll get almost unlimited action from anyone holding A2. They're almost sure to be asking themselves why you don't believe they have A2
while you happily take 3/4 of the pot from them.
