1. Free Omaha Hi Lo
2. How To Play Omaha Pot Limit
3. Play Omaha Hi Lo For Free

We’re not exactly sure where or when people started playing Omaha Poker, but it was most likely born in home-games as a version of Texas Hold’em. Just like Texas Hold’em, each player is dealt hole cards which are combined with a board of face up community cards. The biggest difference between Omaha and Texas Hold’em is the number of hole cards dealt to each player, but there are a few other important nuances that differentiate between the games. In 1982 Omaha got a solid foundation in Las Vegas Casinos and became a crowd favorite. In just the last few decades, Omaha has become much more widespread and today can be found in most major casinos and big tournaments. Omaha has become especially available in online poker rooms.

• Omaha games involve four betting rounds - preflop, flop, turn, and river. Pot Limit Omaha Example Hand Preflop. When all players have four cards, the player to the direct left of the big blind begins the preflop.
• Omaha hi-lo This guide on how to play Omaha poker focuses on pot-limit Omaha (PLO) poker, one of the most played games of the year and probably the easiest version of the game to learn as a beginner.

5 Card Omaha and 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo are similar in some ways to regular Omaha games, but with a fifth hole card dealt to each player pre-flop. 5 Card Omaha games are available at pot limit and no limit tables, while Hi/Lo games can be played at Limit, pot Limit and no Limit tables. Omaha hi lo or 'Omaha 8' is similar to PLO / pot-limit Omaha (Omaha 'high'). Except Omaha hi lo is the split-pot version where players compete for both the 'low' and 'high' halves of the pot. Like in PLO, hi low players get four hole cards. They need to use two of them combined with 3 community cards to make a poker hand.

Rules for Playing Omaha

Omaha Poker, in its traditional form is not particularly hard to play. Texas Hold’em players will probably find that the many similarities make Omaha one of the easiest games to switch too. A game of Omaha can typically support 9-10 players, and to start the game blinds must be posted. The player to the left of the dealer position (marked by the dealer button) must post the small blind. The player to the left of the small blind then posts the big blind, which is typically worth twice as much as the small blind. Each player is dealt four, face down, hole cards and the first round of betting begins. This is known as the pre-flop round of betting and the players take turns betting clockwise around the table based only on their hole cards.

The pre-flop round of betting starts with the player to the left of the big blind, but all future rounds will start with the player who posted the small blind. Every round of betting proceeds clockwise around the table until each player has either bet as much as every other player, gone all-in, or folded their hand. When every player has met these requirements then the round is over and the hand continues with the flop. The flop consists of the first three community cards that are dealt, face up, in the center of the table. In Omaha, players are required to build their best five-card hand by using exactly two of their hole cards and three of the community cards.

After the flop has been dealt the second round of betting commences. After this round, the fourth community card, the turn card, is dealt and the third round of betting takes place. Finally the river card, the fifth and final community card, is dealt and the last round of betting takes place. After the final bets are made, if more than one player remains in the game, there is a showdown. The remaining players must flip their hole cards to reveal their best 5-card hand. The player with the best hand receives the entire pot, but if there is a tie, then the pot is split evenly among the winners.

Hand Rankings in Omaha Games

The Royal Flush– An ace-high straight of one suit.
Example: A K Q J T
Straight Flush – A straight of one suit.
Example: 6 5 4 3 2
Four of a Kind – Four equally ranked cards.
Example: 8 8 8 8 A
Full House – A hand including a ‘three of a kind’ and a pair.
Example: K K K 6 6
Flush – Five cards from the same suit.
Example: 2 4 A T 6
Straight – Five cards in sequential order.
Example: 7 6 5 4 3
Three of a Kind – Three equally ranked cards.
Example: T T T 6 2
Two Pair – Two different pairs.
Example: 7 7 9 9 A
Pair – Two equally valued cards.
Example: 3 3 5 9 K
High Card – When you do not have any of the above combinations, your hand is ranked by its single best card.
Example: 2 K J 5 7 In this case you would have ‘King High’.

Omaha is often called the game of ‘nuts’ because each player is dealt 4, not two, hole cards making it very likely for multiple straights or flushes to come up in any given hand. With these odds, even if you have a straight or flush early in the hand, it is not unwise to fold on the flop if a better possible combination of cards could exist.

Limit Omaha

Omaha generally has fixed betting limits that work exactly like limits in Texas Hold’em. Omaha limits are displayed as two separate dollar amounts. The first number designates the size of the big blind and the maximum raise allowed in the pre-flop and flop round of betting. The second number tells you the maximum raise allowed in the second two rounds of betting: after the turn and river cards. Let’s look at an example to illustrate how these limits work.

For this example we’ll assume you are sitting at a $4/$8 Omaha table. To start with, the small blind is $2 and the big blind is $4. After the blinds are posted let’s say the player to the left of the big blind decides to ‘call’ and posts his $4 bet. The next player decides to raise but because of the limits, he can only raise $4, so he calls $4 and raises $4. In total this player wagers $8. If the third player wants to raise he can only raise by $4 as well, taking the total bet to $12. In any given betting round there can only be three total raises. After the flop the limits are the same, but after the turn the bet limit increases to $8, and remains there for the river as well. These limits are important for keeping the game under control and preventing the volatility that you see in a no-limit Texas Hold’em game. In fact, you will rarely see no-limit Omaha games offered anywhere.

How to Play Pot Limit Omaha (PLO)

Pot limit Omaha, often simply referred to as PLO, follows the same structure as standard limit Omaha, but the betting limits are determined by the size of the pot. When raising in a PLO game, the size of your raise cannot exceed the size of the pot. To calculate the size of the pot you must add three different variables:

• The sum of all bets from previous rounds.
• Any previous bets from the current round.
• The size of the bet required to call the current bet.

Free Omaha Hi Lo

While this is a far cry from a no-limit game, the pot can grow very quickly in a pot limit game, especially in the later betting rounds. Seeing a PLO hand all the way to the showdown can be very expensive so only the strongest hands should be played. As mentioned earlier, PLO games strongly favor the nuts.

How to Play Omaha Hi Lo

Omaha Hi Lo (also known as Omaha 8) is a very popular variation of the game, but it can offer a very different challenge than a traditional Omaha game. Before we get into the details, know that there are some similarities between a Hi Lo and normal Omaha games. For instance, the betting rounds in an Omaha Hi Lo game can either follow the standard limit rules, or pot limit rules that you see normally in Omaha. Also, you should be aware that if no player can make a five-card hand in which every card is unique and ranked 8 or lower (aces are low) then the hand proceeds as a regular Omaha game. If one or more players can put together exactly two of their hole cards and three of the community cards to form a low hand (cards of rank 8 or lower with no pairs, three of a kinds, or four of a kinds), then things get a bit more interesting.

When one or more players can make put together a low hand, then the game effectively splits into two separate competitions with two separate, equal pots: the low pot and the high pot. In this situation, any five-card hand can compete for the high pot; you need only play as you would for a normal Omaha game using the same rules, hand rankings, and limits. If you want to chase the low pot though, you have to understand how the low winner is determined.

To win the low hand in an Omaha Hi Lo game you need to look at all of the low players’ hands and find the ‘worst hand’. Start by comparing everyone’s highest card. Out of all of these highest cards (eight or below) the lowest wins. If there is a tie, then you look at the tied players’ second highest cards to see whose is lowest. You continue through the cards until you have seen them all. If two or more players have the exact same low hand, then the low pot is equally split between them all. Lets look at an example to see how this works.

Hi Lo Example

Community Cards: A K Q 6 3

After all the rounds of betting, three players remain in a hand of Omaha Hi Lo and it’s time for the showdown: John, Mary, and Steven. The table above represents the high and low hands these players, and there is $1000 in the pot. Lets start by looking at the high hands. Johns straight beats Mary’s three of a kind and Steven’s pair so John wins the high pot worth $500.

When we look at the low hands, we see that each player’s highest card is a six, so we need to look at the second highest cards. John has the 4 and Steven ties him with the 4 but Mary’s 5 knocks her out of the low pot. After this point it is clear that Steven and John have the same low hands and must split the low pot. Each will receive $250, and since John won the high pot, he will be walking away with $750 in total.

More Hi Lo Info

To win the low pot, the best hand is 5432A (known as the “wheel”) because these are the five lowest non-duplicate cards you can hold. The worst low hand you can hold is 87654 because the cards are the highest 5 non-duplicating cards that do not exceed eight. In some games, the low hands can contain cards ranked as high as nine, and conversely sometimes seven is used as the cut of point.

Although rare it is possible to win both the high pot and the low pot (known as a “scoop”). The wheel (5432A) is one of the famous hands that can accomplish this, but you can also make two separate hands: one for the high pot and one for the low pot. Imagine this situation.

• Community Cards: 5 J 2 Q A
• Hole cards are 3 T 4 K.

With these cards, you can put together two different hands: A K Q J T (a royal flush) for the high pot and 5 4 3 2 A (the wheel) for the low pot. These hands cannot be beaten, and at worse you will have to split a pot.

So you’ve mastered the basics. You understand the nature of the game, starting hand qualities, the importance of position, how high and low possibilities affect your pot odds, why a dry A2 is not the second coming…etc. The $64,000 question is: how far will this take you and how do you improve?

The first answer will depend to a large degree on your game selection. Some $5/$10 games are a lot easier to beat than some $2/$4 games. The basic trait of good omaha games is looseness. (Be sure not to confuse looseness with short-handed aggression!) In general, the loosest games will be the easiest to beat. But with increasing knowledge on how to play the game, the game seems to play tighter. What is your edge beyond basic play? What separates merely “good” players from excellent players and experts? Something clearly makes a difference. Fortunately, most of these “special” qualities can be understood and developed to a high degree. I will address two that often separate men from the boys, so to speak.

The Pivotal Factor

The less leaks you have, the more you will make. In a game where players have roughly equal playing abilities, psychology becomes the pivotal factor. This does not merely apply to “big bet poker” (pot limit and no limit). Sure, it is faster to tilt your bankroll away in a no limit game, but experiences of many testify that it is just as easy in a limit game. Curiously, even very successful high limit players have huge leaks here. Chip Reese, long acknowledged as one of the best all-around players in the world, said in an interview: “I can give you names of guys who are up-and-coming superstars, who are supposed to be great players. I see them when they play in the big games and things go bad; you can’t believe how they play. They break down…” (Gambling Wizards, 62-63). Not that hard to believe, really. Watch some of the “superstars” eliminated early on in the World Series. How many throw a tantrum? How many are prone to negative self-defeating reactions that cripple their game? Most players do not realize that the maxim “we have met the enemy and it is us” amply applies to them. By reacting in destructive and disruptive ways, you are not only damaging the quality of your play, you are making your opponents feel better! Keep saying “I just cannot win in this game” and soon everyone will really believe it, including you. Make an honest assessment of how you fare in this category. You can be your own best friend if you want to. Most people do not and their marginal earning rate reflects that. Plug the biggest common leak and you’ll be more than on the way!

There’s a Pattern to their Madness

If you post one “poker truth” next to your computer to read every day, this is it. Ed Miller said it and he said it well: “every cent of your long-term profit playing poker comes from exploiting your opponents’ errors and predictable tendencies” (Small Stakes Hold’em, 16). The same is equally true of omaha, if not more so. The tendencies of many omaha players can be easily observed, understood, and used against them. Where are the errors? What should you look for? Which area of play should you analyze and dissect?

One of the most rewarding and distinguishing area of study is the “science of raising”. Some players will raise preflop with any dry A2. Others with raise with an A2XX and at least some counterfeit protection. Others will raise only with an A2 that has some counterfeit protection as well as a suited ace. You want to understand the meaning of your opponents’ actions. The raise of a rock is very different from the raise of a maniac. By observing tendencies, you can make some very educated guesses about the possible holdings. You will get better with practice. Some players will become very “obvious” to you with time. I would in fact suggest that once you select your competition and do your “spying”, you should stick to it! Why double your effort and re-do your homework? If you find players whose play is fairly transparent to you, why look for anybody else? If you have a very good idea about what the raises mean on each turn, how your opponent thinks and what he is capable of, your edge increases dramatically.

Some players feel that poker education is improving the quality of play and makes the games less profitable. The truth is, if you know that your opponent is playing a good, basic game, you know more about their play because their actions at the table are meaningful. They have a pattern.

Your Best Friend

No, I am not talking about dogs (although having a pet can really take loads off!). I am referring to Poker Tracker Omaha. Use it. Let it run on your favorite tables and collect all the data. Sit back, relax, or go to sleep. I routinely keep my omaha software on during the night. In the morning, I check on the players I am interested in. Some of their stats are more familiar to me than my own phone number. I know how often and in which situations they raise, how well they understand the quality of their hand, when they tilt and how to spot it, how aggressive they are…etc. You do not need to collect the data via the “caveman” manual method of watching the table. Your computer can do that for you. How easy is that? Put some distance between you and your competition.

How To Play Omaha Pot Limit

When You Cannot Beat that @#$ing Limit

One final tip that is extremely useful. Suppose you cannot beat a certain limit. Here’s something that helps. Collect a mass of detailed data on the players who can! You will likely see that they do certain things (“small things”) differently than you. With Poker Tracker Omaha, winning ceased to be a secret. You become successful by studying success! What’s stopping you?

Happy playing!

For questions regarding this article or to leave comments, please visit the ITH Forums.

Play Omaha Hi Lo For Free