How does Omaha Hi/Lo work

[SpaceMage]

I have been playing Omaha Hi for a while now and understand that the fundamental differences between Omaha and Hold-um are:

1. You must use two of the four hole cards and three of the community cards to create your hand. Whereas in Hold-um you can use any five of the hole cards and community cards.
2. Winning hands are more likely to come from higher ranking hands than lower. For example you can win often with a good pair in Hold-um but the same hand status in Omaha comes from straights and above.

I have a bit of a problem understanding Omaha Hi/Lo.

The high I believe is the same as Omaha Hi. The best hand from all fifty two cards in the deck. Highest card wins.
The Low I believe comes only from the cards ace to 8.

My problem is:

1. Is A-2-3-4-5 suited the low equivalent to a royal flush in Omaha Hi?
2. Does A-5-6-7-8 unsuited lose to A-2-3-4-5 unsuited?
3. Does the low hand ranking run from lowest card to highest card (the lower card hand will always win) in contrast to Omaha Hi the hand ranking runs from highest card to lowest card (the higher card hand will always win)?
4. Does a pair of aces beat a pair of twos which beats a pair of threes?
5. Does the higher ranking hands follow the same ranking as the pairs above?

Could someone please explain the fundamentals of the low hand in Omaha Hi/Lo?

 

[JordanH]

Winning hands are more likely to come from higher ranking hands than lower. For example you can win often with a good pair in Hold-um but the same hand status in Omaha comes from straights and above. - Yes, Omaha hands tend to be better than in Hold'em since you have 4 hole cards to choose from.

Is A-2-3-4-5 suited the low equivalent to a royal flush in Omaha Hi? - A-2-3-4-5 is the best low hand (whether suited or not) and is also a straight flush so you likely have won both the low and the high hand.

Does A-5-6-7-8 unsuited lose to A-2-3-4-5 unsuited? - Yes

Does the low hand ranking run from lowest card to highest card (the lower card hand will always win) in contrast to Omaha Hi the hand ranking runs from highest card to lowest card (the higher card hand will always win)? - for low hands, the lower the highest card is the better. So for low hands, A2347 loses to 23456 (because the 6 is lower than the 7)

Does a pair of aces beat a pair of twos which beats a pair of threes? - In both Omaha and OMHL your high hand rankings are identical to Hold'em.

Does the higher ranking hands follow the same ranking as the pairs above? - In both Omaha and OMHL your high hand rankings are identical to Hold'em.

Suitedness and pairs are irrelevant when determining the strength of your low hand. All that matters is that you have 5 cards where the highest card is lower than that of your opponents. If you both have the same highest card then the next lower card determines who wins, and so on and so on.

And yes, it is confusing. You can have the nuts (A2345) on the flop and turn and then lose if your A or 2 come up on the river and you don't have any other low cards.

 

[samircyber9]

i would recommend you to read book or youtube video about PLO

 

[StressMit]

I suggest you play some low stakes HiLo to get use to reading the hands.

 

[SpaceMage]

Winning hands are more likely to come from higher ranking hands than lower. For example you can win often with a good pair in Hold-um but the same hand status in Omaha comes from straights and above. - Yes, Omaha hands tend to be better than in Hold'em since you have 4 hole cards to choose from.

Is A-2-3-4-5 suited the low equivalent to a royal flush in Omaha Hi? - A-2-3-4-5 is the best low hand (whether suited or not) and is also a straight flush so you likely have won both the low and the high hand.

Does A-5-6-7-8 unsuited lose to A-2-3-4-5 unsuited? - Yes

Does the low hand ranking run from lowest card to highest card (the lower card hand will always win) in contrast to Omaha Hi the hand ranking runs from highest card to lowest card (the higher card hand will always win)? - for low hands, the lower the highest card is the better. So for low hands, A2347 loses to 23456 (because the 6 is lower than the 7)

Does a pair of aces beat a pair of twos which beats a pair of threes? - In both Omaha and OMHL your high hand rankings are identical to Hold'em.

Does the higher ranking hands follow the same ranking as the pairs above? - In both Omaha and OMHL your high hand rankings are identical to Hold'em.

Suitedness and pairs are irrelevant when determining the strength of your low hand. All that matters is that you have 5 cards where the highest card is lower than that of your opponents. If you both have the same highest card then the next lower card determines who wins, and so on and so on.

And yes, it is confusing. You can have the nuts (A2345) on the flop and turn and then lose if your A or 2 come up on the river and you don't have any other low cards.

Thanks for the replies.

From your reply it sounds like:

1. You have to have five low cards to win the low. If you have 2-9-10-J-Q-K, 2-2-3-3-5, 2-2-2-3-4, or 2-2-2-2-3 and all the other players all have cards higher than 8, you do not win the low hand. But you would have won if you had 2-4-6-7-8.
2. Pairs, three of a kind, four of a kind do not win the low pot.

How about a full house how does that work for the low hand. Is 2-2-2-A-A a losing hand to 3-3-3-A-A?

 

[HTML]

I play omaha for fun. you don't get bored there. but I don't advise others. better hold'em

 

[SpaceMage]

I play omaha for fun. you don't get bored there. but I don't advise others. better hold'em

I've been playing Hold'em for year now and have been attracted to Omaha recently by the number of people streaming Omaha.

Self-taught Omaha-Hi, but Omaha-Hi-Lo seems to be a it more opaque. I've looked at the instructional stuff on the site I play on. But get stuck on the lack of explanation on hand ranking. Watching others does not work either.

 

[gambit1983]

pokerstars and bovada you can play using play money, mess around with the game there.

 

[JordanH]

Thanks for the replies.


Pairs, three of a kind, four of a kind do not win the low pot.How about a full house how does that work for the low hand. Is 2-2-2-A-A a losing hand to 3-3-3-A-A?

The low hand is not a regular poker hand.

Here is an excellent guide to figuring out low hands:

https://www.thehendonmob.com/guide/omaha-hi-lo/whats-your-best-low-hand

 

[SpaceMage]

The low hand is not a regular poker hand.

Here is an excellent guide to figuring out low hands:

https://www.thehendonmob.com/guide/omaha-hi-lo/whats-your-best-low-hand

Thanks for that link.

Answers all of my questions, much appreciated.

 

[BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch]

i would recommend you to read book or youtube video about PLO

Yeah 100% agree.

Biggest mistakes I see is too many beginners going too hard with holdem hands like AA96, KK23, or some holdem pair that don't have supporting cast (ie two other cards to work together with all four) to help the pair. Like AAKT going high is better than AA96 or AA25 is better than AA96 because it gives you a wheel draw and a draw to a nut low.

And even a hand like AA25 with one pair of aces gives you chance to hit a set, a suited ace gives you a chance at the nut flush draw or have a chance at a low (if there is one) and a problem of even playing that hand is falling in love with just the pair of aces.

That game is more complex and involved than omaha and holdem. And takes effort to learn. But you need hands that draw to the nuts or I'm going to see a whole lot of posts of "I lost with my set over set" type of stuff.

GL

 

[dlam]

I used to hate playing Hi - lo but Im enjoy it as part of a mixed game
Playing Razz help a lot
there isnt many poker variation that uses Ace- 5 as the winning hand but playing razz help me for strategy