Omaha PL hi lo - do you go for the hi or low part of the pot???

I know a lot will say you want to scoop, and I agree with this. However, a thread I started PL Omaha hi lo ring game strategy discussion (sorry, but I don`t know any other way of displaying it ) came out with some interesting points.

What I find playing OHL PL is that a lot of ppl enter a pot with low cards, so, for example, its not unusual to see someone turn over A279.

I normally will only play a minimum of three wheel cards. so A24J, or some holding like that. I will also play 3 high cards, QAJ4, etc. Obviously position will have a major bearing on my preflop hand selection, but as a general rule that is what I will do.

What I am trying to get my head around is this. I think a low hand hits about 70% of the time, but a high hand hits 100% of the time. So do you not stand a better chance of making you money on the high end of the pot?

You know what it is like, feirce preflop betting and then the flop hits K92 - u know a lot of the ppl preflop are now looking at runner, runner low, or they have paired their 2. So if u have the high end u should be able to fill up?

Let me know if I`m comming from the wrong angle here

The level I am talking about, by the way, is $1/2 or less.

This is pretty flawed thinking and it'll get you in trouble. What I think you mean is (and I'm not sure about the numbers, would have to look into it) that low hands are possible %70 of the time, and high hands are possible %100 of the time. That says nothing about how likely you are to hit either one.

All I have to say (and I rarely play OH8, fwiw) is that there's a reason every single OH8 book, article or other resource (mostly written by big-winning OH8 players!) suggests the most important thing in the game is scooping the pot. I'd put more stress on that than deciding which type of hand to shoot for for that extra little edge.

Yeah Chuck. Reading back I see what u mean. And u r right. I mean a low hand only wins part of the pot 70% of the time.

Forgot to add Chuck, if we have a team tourny like last year and we are in the same team again, I can be the Omaha expert now !!!

I try only to play hands that have both good high and low potential AK23 double suited etc., althought I know they don't come around often. When you're thinking of the low, you have to expect sometimes when you're playing low you'll also back into the best high hand. Hitting a wheel or getting a nut flush with your A2 low. Those people playing A278 are just throwing their money away. How many times do they hit a low only to get quartered, or worse, by another low.

Now I don't know if I actually added anything to the discussion or I'm just rambling..........

The series in our artivles sectiom on Omaha8 is chock full of tips and strategies that helped my understanding of the game immensely. I've reread parts of it multiple times, and I'm sure will do so again.

Quick theory lesson for this game. I did not look it up but I will go with the above that there is a low 70% of the time.

You play for the high only.
You are only going to scoop or get the whole pot 30% of the time. You are only playing for 1/2 the pot most of the time. Heads up you will lose money if there is a low hand. Why? The rake. You only win back your own money minus the rake. You have to have at least three players in the pot. You are still only going to win 1/2 of his money.

You play for the low.
You need low cards with extra potentials. Ax suited for nut flush. Small pocket pairs for full house. 3 or 4 cards clumped together for straights. These types of hands give you max potential to win both high and low. Thus playing for 100% of the pot more often.

The money is in scooping as stated earlier. You give yourself a better shot at it when playing low cards. Even if you don't hit the straights or flushes you can still win 1/2 the pot with a low hand. High hands don't hit and you have nothing to fall back on.

Take all that together and that is why all the books say play low cards only and throw most others away. This game is more about patience than even holdem. You can't bluff your way through omaha unlike holdem. You get alot more callers so you need to wait for the great hands and have them hit before you make money.

Thanks to all and I know u play a lot titans, so thanks again for your input!!!

So, just for me (I`m a little bit simple sometimes )

Here is a list of starting hands. Imagine getting these starting hands in middle position, pot limit, $0.25/0.50, the players are nothing special - no one either extreme - over aggressive, over tight. Pot unraised. (Hope that is enough info)

What would you do with these hands genrally?

1. Ah2hAs2s
2. AhKs10c7d
3. Kd2dQsJs
4. Js2s3hAc
5. 7s8s9d10h
6. Ad3d4s5s
7. Kh2hKd2d

Anyone is welcome to answer.

1) raise
2) fold
3)call
4) call but fold to big raise
5)call
6)call some fold some
7)call, really not a strong hand if u think about it

thats what i would do but im nothing special in O8

Omaha High/Low I think is the dumb game. I used to think it was good, of course when I would win at it lol. You really should go for the high hand a lot of times, because first of all if you go for the low and hit, then someone might have the same hand and you will end up losing money. You will need to have the nuts if you expect to win this game. Also if you have the lowest hand possible and theres 4 people calling or all in... fold!

ans above

When i first started playing poker Omaha hi/low was my favorite poker to play. At first I played for both the hi and low. Now that I have been playing for a few years now. I mainly play for the hight pot. You win more. I don't like sharing the pot so many ways as when you play for the low.

I actually play this level quite a bit. What I have normally done noted above. One thing I don't think I get is people saying they usually only go for Hi or something like that. I really don't see how that would work. I mean, are you saying that you only play hand with Tens through Aces in them... or double suited with Aces? The way I see it is that lows are much more defineable pre-flop. You'll have A2, A23, or A34 and more all with WAY better chances of hitting nut low than the high card hands like AQQJ have of hitting nut high. Sure... your ultimate goal is to scoop as often as possible, but in my experience, you're usually "Going for" the low and having a decent chance at hitting a nut or near nut high is the way you get to scoop most often.