Omaha Hi/Lo

There are several things I want to touch base with in this section. Now remember this strategy guide is set up to teach new players the basics of how to win, not the rules on how to play so please keep that in mind while reading this. Also, the concepts in this section should be strongly embedded into you before hitting the tables.

Omaha Hi-Lo is an easy game to win at low limits just because there are so many horrible. Unlike in Texas Hold’em, where several bad players can get together and get lucky hitting their random hands like 4-8 and win, Omaha Hi-Lo is more so a game of skill  and the schooling phenomenon to be had is in the benefit of the favorites. (Schooling is where bad players can “school” together and win with there poor draws based on pot odds.) What I mean by that is in Omaha it benefit’s the stronger cards not the random “underdog” garbage you see players playing. So, for example, let’s say you have 3456. 3456 it still worthless no matter where you are in terms of if you’re on the button or not or how many players you’re against. In Omaha, garbage is garbage and it should be folded. In Omaha, more often then not, five players are drawing completely dead and only two players have all of the outs.

Since Omaha is a game of massive edges versus Texas Hold’em being a game of small edges, It makes Omaha an easy game to beat at low limits compared to most others. This is because most of the players don’t have the ability or the desire to play properly in the lower limits of these games. Generally if you are playing to win in Omaha it’s more profitable because it’s a lower bankroll needed and you win at higher hourly rates Also, with the massive edges being a factor there’s a lot more fish to be had. (Fish are bad players who don’t have the desire.) Also, the bad players don’t have discipline. Since having discipline in anything is an above average skill it’s very easy to teach new players how to be above average. So Omaha is a great game for inexperienced players that have this discipline and want to learn to be good. However, for most inexperienced players they don’t take the time to learn these basics and therefore there are far more fish in Omaha Hi-Lo.

In terms of tight and loose games, there are slightly different strategies. In a tight game, if someone limps in front of you, you’re better off calling. To loosen up means you want to play for a raise in most of the hands you play in. In loose games, raising is the better option because you’re playing the best way you can of your hand. This is because you know your starting hand is good and you want dead money in the pot and hopeless hands chasing it. Surprisingly, dead hands will chase these hopes and dreams.

Omaha is a game of preparation and therefore you need to play your hand accordingly. So, manipulate the pot size and your opponents. For example, let’s say you get a hand that plays better against few opponents, manipulate your opponents so that you are playing against fewer opponents. Same thing goes with a hand that plays better against a full field, make sure you’re playing against a full field. Since the flop is the most critical part of Omaha you should begin to roughly calculate your probabilities and figure out your chances to win. Go back to manipulating and manipulate your opponents to best help you. If your hand is an odds favorite then get more people to throw money in. By the time the turn comes, you should know your chances of winning all or some of the pot. Tons of new players think that Omaha is a river game. They want to wait until the river to figure out if they have the best hand and then bet. However, this is were good players differ from amateurs. While every once in a while that one person will win by luck if you mathematically do everything right and consistently do it in every hand and game you will do well. This is because you did all of the important actions before you had bad luck on the river and good repetition of important actions are what will bring you out ahead in the long run.