No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo The minimum bet in No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet as much more as they want, up to all of their chips. Minimum raise: In No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, the raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first. The difference with classic No Limit Texas Hold'em is the Pot Limit element. That means bets are curbed on each round of betting, and players can only bet as much as there is in the pot at that time. While Omaha Hi is common (i.e. The best five-card hand wins the whole pot), cash games are also played in the Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo format.
Omaha Hi Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or Omaha Eight or Better) is a “split pot” version of the popular Omaha poker game. In this version of the game, there are two winning hands in each round: the high winner and the low winner.
The high hand winner is the player with the highest value winning hand – the same as in the standard version of Omaha. The low hand winner is the player with the best hand featuring five unpaired cards valued 8 or lower. Flushes and straights are ignored in the low hand. If you know the basics of Pot Limit Omaha Hi strategy, you should have no problems getting to grips with Omaha Hi Lo strategy, so here are some tips to get you started.
Be prepared to fold on the flop
An essential Omaha 8 strategy is to recognize when you have a weak hand early on and get out quickly. The game favors the highest value hands so if the flop offers you little, it’s time to fold. Betting on average hands is a flawed Omaha Eight or Better strategy that will quickly end your game.
Forget about bluffing
If you are planning on bringing your Texas Hold’em bluffing skills to the Omaha Hi Lo table, think again. The game is driven by strong hands so when the betting starts, the chances are you are going up against players with high-value combinations. Bluffing in this situation is a sure-fire way to get beat. There are some Omaha Hi Lo strategy advanced situations where bluffing may be useful, but it takes time and experience to understand such nuances of the game. Until you reach that point, bet the hand you have.
Don’t commit too early
If you are dealt a strong early hand such as A-A-2-3 double-suited, don’t be tempted to raise early. You will reduce the field while committing a lot of money before you have seen the flop. It’s much better to keep as many players in the game as possible if you have the potential to hit the “nuts”. Some players may raise early if they have a good but not strong hand to try and force other players to fold but this strategy can backfire after the flop.
Remember, the key decision you need make after being dealt with your hole cards is whether to play your hand or not. If you have a premium hand, you should play but avoid raising until after the flop when there is a multi-way pot there to be scooped.
Omaha Hi Lo 8b Strategy
- How To Play Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or Better — Clear And Concise Guide – The Rules Of How To Play Omaha Hi-Lo.
- Omaha Hi-Lo Starting Hands Guide — Starting Hands Guide For Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better and PLO8
- PLO8 Poker – Ace-Two Errors & How To Spot Them — Every PLO8 Player Enjoys The Sight Of A2 As Part Of Their Starting Hand, However There Are Times When A2 Errors Can End Up Costing You Chips.
- Omaha Hi-Lo Point Count Systems For Starting Hand Selection — Dr Hutchinson’s Omaha Hi-Lo Point Count System Reviewed – Useful For Online Play??
- High Only Hands In PLO8 Poker – For The 30% Of The Time A Low Is Not Made, An Introduction To Profitable High-Hand Play.
- How To Avoid Being Quartered In O8 Poker – Avoiding Being Quartered In Certain Situations Can Make A Big Difference To Your Bankroll.
- Playing Static Flops In PLO8 – Cardrunners Coach Dan ‘CampFireWest’ Deppen takes us though some advanced strategy ideas.
- Omaha Hi-Lo Probability Math – How Often Will You Make A Low? — How Often Will You Make A Low For Different Starting Hands.
- All-Ins Pre-Flop In No Limit Omaha Hi-Lo — No-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Strategy Should Include Defense Against The Constant All-In Overbets Pre Flop in NL08.
- Straights In Omaha Hi-Lo, A Closer Look! — Straights, Draws To Straights and When To Play Straights In Omaha Hi-Lo… A Closer Look!
- Omaha Hi-Lo Probability Math – How Often Will You Make A Low? — How Often Will You Make A Low For Different Starting Hands.
- Scooping PLO Hi-Lo Pots – The Why And The How! — Lets take a look at taking the high and low splits of the pot in O8 games.
How is Pot Limit Omaha Different From No Limit Hold’Em
While there are many elements of Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) and No Limit Hold’Em (NLH) play that are similar, the increase to four pocket cards and the betting caps directed by Pot Limit direct different strategic approaches for PLO as compared to NLH. NLH players new to PLO will need to focus on the most basic difference: you must use exactly two of your four hole cards and exactly three board cards to create your hand. Think that’s easy? Well, see how often you believe you have made a straight when you actually have not. The field of Cognitive Psychology teaches us about learning inhibition – past learning inhibits future knowledge acquisition. For that reason, breaking NLH habits are more difficult than you might imagine.
There are several other key differences between PLO and NLH that you need to be aware of as you start your PLO career:
Pre-flop Equity Differences in PLO are Much Smaller than in NLH
Most hands in PLO have no more than a 2:1 pre-flop equity advantage. While a hand with two aces in NLH will on average be about an 85% favorite against any random hand, in Omaha holding two aces and two other random cards will only make you about a 65% favorite against any other four random cards. So many combinations can hit hands on a flop that even the raggiest of starting hands have potential against very strong hands. However, this still does not mean you should play any four cards from any position!
PLO Loves Action
The reduced differential in PLO pre-flop hand equities means that players frequently have pot odds (actual or implied) to enter a hand pre-flop, particularly in late position. While a tight NLH player might only voluntarily put money in to see the flop 15% of the time, that same frequency would be exceedingly tight for a PLO player. As with NLH, the exact percentage of hands you should play pre-flop will vary based on many factors, but expect even very good players to be in as many as 20%-30% of pots. Overall, you can loosen up pre-flop in PLO, just don’t overdo it.
The pot limit nature of PLO also makes it more difficult to push players out of the hand pre-flop. The upshot is that in PLO, you’re going to see a lot more flops. Be prepared to sharpen your board reading skills and post-flop play. NLH players transitioning to PLO can also find it challenging to put players on hand ranges, given the differences in pre-flop approaches between the two games and the increased combinations that four cards yield post-flop.
No Limit Omaha
Position even More Important in PLO
PLO is a drawing game, so you want to be in position on your draws. You will find that there is more calling behind pre-flop than 3-betting, and more defense of 3-bets in position. Players hang in there in PLO. They rarely limp fold from early position. If you are 3-betting pre-flop, it should generally be for value, and not as a bluff. And while play is loose, you often don’t want to increase the pot size too quickly before seeing the flop.
Out of position you should only be raising with premium hands. Otherwise, try to keep the pot multi-way.
Set Mine with Caution in PLO
While set mining in with small pairs in NLH games can be profitable, it should generally be avoided in PLO. The odds of losing set over set, or a set losing to a straight or flush is much higher than in NLH. A hand like should often be discarded.
You Need Much Stronger Hands to Win at Showdown
“But it’s only 2 extra cards”, right? Wrong. It takes a much stronger hand to win a showdown in PLO.
Pot Limit Omaha Video
A flush in NLH is often good and you can generally bet with impunity with even a small flush. In PLO, you need to play a small flush very carefully. There are many times when small flushes have to be folded. Similarly, while two pair is a strong holding in NLH, it is generally only a bluff catcher in PLO. Over-pairs are likely to call a raise on the flop in NLH, but they are folding most of the time in PLO.
You also need to be judicious about your draws. When drawing to flushes or straights, you almost always should be drawing to the nuts. No drawing to the bottom end of the straight, a low flush, or the third nut flush. Those hands will get you into trouble more often than not.
Suitedness Matters More in PLO
Double suited pocket aces (such as ) and double suited “rundowns” (such as ) are some of the best hands in PLO.
can flop top set and has two ways to make the nut flush. It can even flop a straight draw to go along with it.
can flop “wrap” draws with over 20 outs. This hand can flop such a powerful draw that it can be a favorite over the nuts on the flop! In NLH, that’s never possible. If you flop the nuts, you’ll always be a favorite to win.