Crushing Omaha hi/lo (part 1): Getting started

Split-pot games like Omaha hi/lo (also known as PLO8) are even more action-packed than pot-limit Omaha (if that’s possible!). Omaha hi/lo offer canny players an edge over the inexperienced, just as long as you follow some basic rules…

1. The key difference between PLO and PLO8 is that in hi/lo the pot is split between the best high hand and the best low. However, there MUST be three cards ranked Eight or below on the board for there to be a qualifying low, otherwise the high wins the whole pot as in normal PLO.
    
2. Don’t slow-play and be wary of overplaying vulnerable hands like naked flopped sets and straights. However, if you have the nut high hand you should generally try to jam the pot and charge your opponents to draw to the low.
    
3. Straights and flushes do not count against you for the low, therefore A-2-3-4-5 is the nut low and can often be good enough to win the high as well, especially if it contains a suited Ace so you can draw to the nut flush.
    
4. You should be playing to scoop (win the whole pot) rather than playing to win half. This is key in PLO8. If you are only drawing to the nut low you could be up against an opponent holding the nut high with both high and low redraws. Basically this means that you will get quartered (only win a quarter of the pot) as the high will take half the pot and you will split the other half with the best low – not good.
    

Starting hand requirements

While every showdown in PLO8 will always have a high hand winner, there will not always be a winning low. Your focus for starting hands should reflect the fact you are looking to scoop. This means premium PLO-high starting hands like double-suited Broadway rundowns aren’t as valuable. Middling rundowns are even worse, as a hand like J-10-9-7 is never going to win the low and is speculative when it comes to the high.

The best holdings have strong draws to both high and low hands. A-H-H-L and A-L-L-H (where L is Five or below and H is Ten or better) suited gap connecters make excellent starting hands, as do double-suited big pairs like A-A-K-K to A-A-T-T. The hi/lo nature of the game means that hands like A-A-5-5 down to A-A-2-2 are now also premiums as are A-A-4-5 down to A-A-2-3. Rundowns like A-2-3-4 up to A-4-5-6 are good hi/lo starting hands especially if double-suited. However, hands like A-7-X-X or A-8-X-X where your other cards are uncoordinated middling-highs will just get you into trouble.

Naked A-2-X-X hands are worth a look if you can get in cheaply, but should not be overplayed out of position, especially if your Ace isn’t suited.

Read part II