Omaha High-Low - Basic advice
When you're playing Omaha High-Low your goal should always be to win the entire pot (also called scoop). Splitting pots will obviously not be nearly as profitable in the long run. For example, if you scoop a $200 pot in which you have invested $50, your profit will be $150. If you split the same pot your profit will be only $50. In this example the profit of scooping is three time higher than the profit of splitting.
Scooping pots is the objective but opportunities to do so don't come very often. Discipline and a conservative approach are needed if you want to maximize your Omaha High-Low winnings.Here are some things to think about:
- Look for loose games. What you want is tables where the average number of players seeing the flop is at least five.
- Be very selective about what starting hands you play. For low hand you need hands that include A-2, A-3 or 2-3. High hands require four cards with a value of 10 or higher. Hands containing a 7, 8 or 9 should almost always be folded. When it comes to pre-flop raising you should be even more selective.
- Pot odds are crucial in Omaha High-Low. If you're able to do these calculations correctly you will improve your chances of winning.
- If the flop doesn't go your way - fold. You generally need a good chance of winning both hands to stay in the game.
- If you do hit the flop you should play your hand(s) aggressively. This is an effective way to increase your profit.
- Take advantage of your position at the table. For example you should play more starting hands when you're in late position.
- Omaha is a hand-driven game. This means that you seldom should try to bluff your opponents.