OMAHA H/L

Ive noticed a lot more raising and reraising in omaha hi/lo tments preflop and was just wandering what the reason behind that might be. I know that A-2 and any other cards are a good enough starting hand b/c youre guaranteed the low but its very risky putting all those chips in preflop once the blinds start getting up there b/c youre not always guaranteed a low hand. However, i dont know if ive ever laid down A-2 esp. with the A being suited

You aren't guaranteed the low. Not ever! Do you have a good chance of winning the low with A/2? Abso-freakin'-lutely! But there's no such thing as a guaranteed pre-flop hand. The only guarantees are prize pools. Also the A/2 can trap you. Remember if you pair, you're probably pairing with a weak kicker and there are usually a lot of hands that can beat you. I notice that there are a lot more straights and flushes in Omaha than Hold 'Em.

See, that same A/2 becomes a lot stronger with two other cards(especially if they're double suited). Great hands are double suited, but if all you do is play the great ones you'll get blinded out(you know that). Aim for scooping hands. If going for lo, really go for lo, something along the lines of A-2-5-K preferably double suited, then raise, that way you're better covered for the low and still have a decent chance at hi, it's just way more hands can be made that way. You can get A high flush, K high flush, 5 hi straight, or A high straight, not counting the much coveted straight and royal flushes.

I'm not the real expert on omaha hi-lo I just know that you have to look at a range, and with a hand along the lines of the one I mentioned you're more likely to scoop as opposed to splitting the pot. I'm always considering that my A-2 for the lo can be counterfieted really easily, by pairing the A or the 2 at some point along the way, that's why I really like to go for the lo or really go for the hi.

There are a whole bunch of strategy guides with starting hands for omaha hi-lo split online. Basically, in some ways, you're tightening up your requirements from No Limit Texas Hold 'Em but in other ways you're loosening them up.

At the lowest stakes you have to be really careful though. Two problems. One's the rake. At any point where you're heads up, just check and call if you think you have it. Few things are crummier than having to lose money in a hand due to splitting with someone who just couldn't give up their lo draw even with an awesome hi hand sitting plain as day on the board. The other problem is with just how little your opponents will think their hands through. Now we can't all be in the zone all the time, but some make really hare-brained decisions that work out for them, if a hand looks like an impossible nuts say 7-7-7-2 on the board, chances are, someone's playing a totally oatmeal hand with 7-2 in it.

As usual with omaha the hardest part's letting go when you're beat. Maybe that's the hardest part with all the games, but omaha has a funny way of tricking you into thinking you're winning when you're drawing dead.

Oh yeah, if you play those double suited hands, calling raises or making them(depends on the table), when you hit, you'll hit hard, and a lot of opponents will have you on chasing the lo, or just having the hi. You're going to take down 75% to 100% of the pot every time you hit. Compare that to 50% when all you get's low or high, and see how much better it is?