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Omaha High/Low Poker: omaha hi/lo beginner

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    i consider myself an advanced hold'em player, however iam very unfamiliar with omaha, espicially hi/lo i was wondering if sum1 could give me an outline as to good starting hands, hands to get away from. ect.

    anything would be helpful, thanks

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    Look...here's the thing.

    I have seen alot of online players, play this game in a way I find to be incorrect.

    You should play to win the low and try to somehow luck into the high. For example, flop a good made low, or nut low draw and maybe hit a flush, or make a wheel.

    If your in late position and feel you can get into the pot for 1 bet with cards that won't make a low, like..K Q J 10, or A Q K 10, or something similiar then go ahead and do so. If there is no low hand possible on the flop, chances are you will have a very good hand.

    Playing this way is one thing, but knowing how to get max value is different. If your going to be constantly playing and winning alot of half pots, you have to keep as many people in the pot for as long as possible.

    If your in early position and you have a hand with good low potential, its probably best to not raise. You want as many people coming into the pot as possible to increase your take when you win the low.

    If your in late position, raising 1 bet is alright because its unlikely anyone will fold. Which will increase your half the pot.

    I usually see two problems in play around the tables. The first is that too many people pay too much with no chance to win the low. They will play hands for the high only and marginal high hands at best. The second problem is that you shouldnt pay large amounts of money to draw to half the pot. Paying 1 bet 4 cards to the nut low is ok, but chasing a low needing runner runner is not a winning strategy. What's worse is chasing a high hand, with no chase to win the low.

    I will conceed that one problem with the low hands is that sometimes you will get quartered, but if your not paying to draw very much then getting quartered will happen on rare occassions.

  3. 728x890_us
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      CommentAuthorIRSAgent
    • CommentTimeAug 30th 2005
     

    I somewhat disagree about playing for only half the pot. While it is always best to start with high-low options, in pot-limit or no-limit games you can use the nuts for low to force out mediocre high hands that would take half of your pot. (and vice-versa) I do agree, that you shouldn't make a habit of it. In fact, I try to keep more people in the hand when I make the nut low (in case I ended up getting quartered).

    The above really only allows you to make small gains though. Scooping the entire pot is the way to make significant gains. AA23 double suited is the best starting hand for hi-low. You basically want lots of options. For the low side, having the three lowest cards is much better than only the two lowest. For example if the flop comes out 7-8-2, having A3 is good, but holding A34 is so much better. It is detrimental when your nut low hand gets conterfeited by matching your hole cards. When a 3 hits the turn, now A4, A5, A6, 45, and 46 beat you out of the low pot.

    You should read Clonie Gowen's article about redraws.

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      CommentAuthorgibbygib
    • CommentTimeAug 30th 2005
     

    Jaconda, PL O H/L 8 is probably my most profitable game on paradise poker, and I often do what you're telling me not to.

    In high low, you almost never want to play preflop for any more than 1 BB if you have very little or no chance at low (hands like KJQ9, 4588, A589 are all trash) 9 is by far the worst card in this game, as it is the lowest card that cannot be counted in a low. 5s,6s,7s, and 8s are usually bad cards as well. Having A2, A23, A24 in your hand is a must in my book, unless you're playing KKQJ, AKQJ, etc from late/middle position/blinds. To call a raise preflop, you will have to have some shot at low period. This is my rules of play.

    In early position if you are dealt A23, A24, A234, AA2K etc, you want to limp in every time. Never raise in early position no matter what. The hands I have listed are actually, in some people's minds, limp-reraise hands. I love to limp with AA23 double suited, and then pot-raise a raiser. It works wonderfully, and I find myself taking the tables to school time and time again. If you hold A-2, there is a 30% chance someone else at the table holds A-2 as well (IIRC, heard that somewhere) and if you hold hands like A234, AA23, AA2x, etc, the chances of others having a good low hand like you aren't so high. Aces are easily and obviously the best cards in this game, and often it is the only card you should be caring about whether it is suited or not.

    You said that people are likely to end up with 1/4'th the pot? Not very likely, but if you know how to play the low hands when you do get quartered, you will still make profit (not much, but I'll take anything)

    I usually don't want to be mean to you because you help out the forum so often, but your advice was a joke. I'm sorry.

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      CommentAuthorJaconda78
    • CommentTimeSep 22nd 2005
     

    Stay away from hands that have no potential to scoop the pot. Even if you make the nut low, you're likely to end up with only 1/4 of the pot. Hands like AA23 are great (in fact, taht's the best hand if its double suited). Also hands like AK23 double suited, etc. Always ask yourself - can I win both high and low with this hand? Never play for 1/2 the pot.

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      CommentAuthorDrJen
    • CommentTimeSep 23rd 2005
     

    Try Bobby Baldwin's Super System 2 Chapter on Omaha hi/lo -- I think he does a **great** job laying out and explaining starting hand requirements.

    I think it is a great chapter overall -- the very 1st time I played Omaha hi/lo was by accident (I'd meant to enter a hold'em S&G but my mouse pointer missed it by a row -- dumb! ) Anyway, I snagged my SS2 and scanned Baldwin's chapter. By virtue of both playing tight and following Baldwin's list of good starting hands I ended up in third, winning back my foolishly invested entry fee. So basically I don't have enough nice things to say about this chapter!

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    The point I was trying to stress is that, with Low cards you can always make a high. But with high cards you can never make a low. You want to get into the pots with those low cards because you stand a much better chance to scoop. The high only hands dont' cut it in Hi/Lo unless you can get in cheap and fold when the flop is not good.

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    This is huge. A lot of people play these hands and get caught thinking they caught the straight but in reality they only catch the dumb end of it.

    Good hands to play are three high cards that including an ace preferably onr that is suited. A good way to look at your hand, besides looking for scooping possibilities, is a hand that all 4 cards work together. I have a friend who breaks his hand into 2 Hold'em hands and routinely loses becuse he has very little chance for redraws.

    BTW a note on AA23 ds. Great hand but you have a better chance of being delt four of a kind than AA23 ds

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    High only hands have very little chance if any of being 1/4. Plus there is a High every hand not a low. There are numerous times it is good to play a high only hand especially if you are up against 2 or more players whom tend to play low hands. While you may split the pot with them you are getting half while they get quarted. Starting hand selection is very dependent on position and oppenents personally. Now what you raise wit that is another story.

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      CommentAuthorGliewe
    • CommentTimeOct 27th 2005
     

    It should also be noted for the new players, that it is just stupid to put all ur chips in preflop with ace 2. By this i mean if u are playin PLO hi/lo, dont be so willing to call an all-in preflop with just a low draw. If a low doesnt come, you are probably screwed, and even if it does come, you might be at best gettin half the pot, maybe even quartering it. So many new players to the game, are so willing to commit every penny to the pot when they have A2 in their hand and they are heads up.

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    Stay away from playing the mid cards 6 7 8 9 5678 etc.... You might win 1 or 2 pots with these hands but mostly you wil be donating your money.

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    That is True I used to Hate this game. You work hard to win a hi hand and some A Hole is just chaseing for the lo.But I have found out that a lot of times those A holes donate alot to the bank roll.And do yourself another favor and stay away from the raise and reraise PSYCHO's unles you really have the nuts to preferably SCOOP.

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      CommentAuthorjbrennen
    • CommentTimeDec 6th 2005
     

    Don't forget to mention that A-2 is not necessarily the nut low.

    For instance, if the board comes out K-Q-4-3-2, then A-5 is the nut low. A-2 won't even make a qualifying low hand. And your pair of deuces probably isn't worth much toward the high half of the pot.

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    unless its 2-3-4-5, K-Q-J-10 or Q-J-10-9 (each usually in late position), and it dosen't contain an ace.....don't consider it.

    I know 2-3-6-K looks shiny, but its usually crap.

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omaha hi/lo beginner