Avoid Being Quartered in Omaha Hi-Lo
Omaha Hi-Lo is an exciting and potentially profitable poker variant, but unless you take into account the specifics of this unique game, you may find yourself coming up short. Here’s how it works. Each hand, the pot gets divided in two, with the player with the highest hand taking one half and the player with the lowest qualifying hand taking the remainder. If you play your cards right, you can end up with the whole thing.
When it comes to splitting the pot, there’s another situation that can occur: sometimes two or more players end up with the lowest qualifying hand. In this case, the half of the pot normally given to the player with the lowest qualifying hand is split in two. When this happens, each of the players wins a quarter of the chips. This is what is known as getting “quartered.”
Obviously, this is something you want to avoid at all costs, as it means you’re only getting a 25% return on your bet. An example would be: if you put $40 in the pot, you’d end up with $10.
However, there are steps you can take to avoid falling into this situation. Of course, there’s no guarantee you won’t end up quartered at some point, but if you follow these strategies, you can minimize the possibility.
First, analyze your hand. Staying away from a quarter pot depends on your hand selection. Try to get rid of hands that consist of an ace, 2, 3, as they are the hallmarks of being quartered. Only two cards in these hands qualify as being a low hand, and if they end up on the board, you won’t be able to make a five-card low hand with them. If the ace is suited with another card, you can try your luck with these hands, otherwise you should fold. However, even if the ace is suited, these hands are usually losers, so it’s probably a good idea to fold them anyway.
These hands are particularly bad because your opponent doesn’t need much in order to beat them. If you have an a-2 hand and no support, your opponent will realize you’re trying to win with a qualifying low hand. All they need is some backup with an a-2, and they have you beat. They’ll win the high portion of the pot, and as long as they get three qualifying cards to appear on the board, they’ve got the lower pot too.
If you’re trying to get a qualifying low hand, it makes no sense to call and raise bets. More than likely, you’re not going to get what you’re looking for. If you decide to stay in the game through the river, and you don’t get those three cards, you’ll probably end up losing a big stack.
Play low hands only when you think you have a chance of winning the high pot. Gambling on a low hand will more than likely result in you losing more money.