Lucksacks How To : Omaha High Low

‘Bout to blow y’all’s mind with this one… are you ready? REQUIRED READING (not really, I kid) are my previous posts on How to Play Holdem and the Beginning Omaha post. It’s about to get complicated, fam!

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High Low

For our purposes, ‘High Low’ is the same as ‘8 or Better’, ‘k? K. Here we go…

In Omaha Hi Low you can win TWO pots at the end of your hand. That’s right. Two...If at the conclusion of the hand there are 3 cards with a value of 8 or lower on the board. In this game, you make two hands using ANY combination of the four you are holding along with the five cards on the board. You may use the same card in both hands like the Ace for instance can count as a high card and as a low card. This fact makes the Ace even more important to High Low games than to single pot games.

The real point of the game is to win BOTH pots or scoop the pot. Strategy favors beginning with four low cards under 7 and making straights and ace high flashes along with nut lows. ’Start low and go high’ is the old saying. The goal is to go both ways with your hand. Low cards can make high hands, however high cards (9 and above) do not qualify for the low. 7-8-9 are cards to avoid, they can get you into bad spots in in this game.

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Counterfeiting

Counterfeiting means that you had a good hand and that hand gets cancelled by something popping up on the board. It can occur when the turn or river match one of the straight cards or low cards in your hand. Say you hold A-2-K-K the flop is 4-8-3. Mira:

You have the nut low right now. You bet, everyone calls and the turn comes with a 2. You’ve just been counterfeited broplayer. Sorries! Any other player who has a qualifying low hand with a 7 to the boards 8 has a better low than you do.

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Other Thoughts To Remember

Getting counterfeited is hard to see for beginners and can be very frustrating to players of all levels. If and when you get counterfeited you need to be able to fold your hand.

FYI, any hand that contains A-2-3-4-7 is referred to as “a 7 smooth”

Remember, hand reading can be difficult in High Low and will take time and practice. Splitting huge multi-way High Low pots with multiple players all-in can perplex even some of the best dealers in live games. Take your time and re-evaluate the hand on each street carefully. As in all Omaha games there is less bluffing and more good hands looking to get paid off so make sure to bring your nuts!

xoxo, b!