wagon596
Legend
Bronze Level
I prefer having at least 3 very low cards with 2 of them being at least A/2 or A/3, if the Ace is suited with 1 of your cards it brings in the chance to Flush.. That way if you pair one of your low cards you still have a chance to win low. Also it give you a chance to straight.
Be careful if the board pairs, very good chance someone at least has a set or even a full house. Good luck,,, PLO8 is a very difficult game to learn. These are just a few of tips I play by. I assume you know you have to use 2 cards from your hole cards in both the Hi and Lo hands.
Be careful if the board pairs, very good chance someone at least has a set or even a full house. Good luck,,, PLO8 is a very difficult game to learn. These are just a few of tips I play by. I assume you know you have to use 2 cards from your hole cards in both the Hi and Lo hands.
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gryphon3005
Rock Star
Silver Level
Because this game is hi-lo the most powerful card in the deck is the ace. That's why a lot of folks discussing the best hands in Omaha 8 always include one or two aces. The problem is there are over 270,000 possible hands in Omaha 8 so waiting for aces is not the best strategy.
First, there are only 5 cards "over 8", the 9 to the K. That leaves 7 cards 8 and under. I left out the 2-way Ace because it makes both ends of the game. You can guess that with these numbers that there will be more boards with at least 3 low cards than 3 high cards. So your first strategy is look for hands with at least 2 low cards. When your hand has 3 high cards you have no chance for a low and are severely handicapping yourself.
There are many other things to consider and discussing them would make this post way too long. Briefly, with a 4 card hand (or 5 in my favourite, Courcheval) you prefer to see two cards of the same suit with hopefully an Ace or K included. I say that because there will also be other hands at the table with suited cards and you want to start off with a chance to make the best flush in at least one suit. While full houses are always a danger which you try to avoid by being very careful when the board has paired, remember that the other players will value a low hand highly particularly if their hand has at least 3 low cards. That makes a flush powerful when facing hands that don't have pairs.
Finally you'll learn that because the game is slanted towards low hands that there will be a lot of pots with two or more hands tied for low. What you want is one of those hands that also has a good high hand component. It's always fun to win 3/4 of the pot when you win the high and half the low.
Good luck and enjoy the challenge.
First, there are only 5 cards "over 8", the 9 to the K. That leaves 7 cards 8 and under. I left out the 2-way Ace because it makes both ends of the game. You can guess that with these numbers that there will be more boards with at least 3 low cards than 3 high cards. So your first strategy is look for hands with at least 2 low cards. When your hand has 3 high cards you have no chance for a low and are severely handicapping yourself.
There are many other things to consider and discussing them would make this post way too long. Briefly, with a 4 card hand (or 5 in my favourite, Courcheval) you prefer to see two cards of the same suit with hopefully an Ace or K included. I say that because there will also be other hands at the table with suited cards and you want to start off with a chance to make the best flush in at least one suit. While full houses are always a danger which you try to avoid by being very careful when the board has paired, remember that the other players will value a low hand highly particularly if their hand has at least 3 low cards. That makes a flush powerful when facing hands that don't have pairs.
Finally you'll learn that because the game is slanted towards low hands that there will be a lot of pots with two or more hands tied for low. What you want is one of those hands that also has a good high hand component. It's always fun to win 3/4 of the pot when you win the high and half the low.
Good luck and enjoy the challenge.
ogMaxVoltage
Rising Star
Bronze Level
plo8 Legend Tip that rings true
in addition to having Two Suits with Connectors like J*T-9-8 ( A top ten winning hand out of over 200,000 starting hands) I like having 2 or 3 low cards. Ideally, are A/2 or A/3, A/4, and if the Aces are suited the chance to Flush adds value.
in addition to having Two Suits with Connectors like J*T-9-8 ( A top ten winning hand out of over 200,000 starting hands) I like having 2 or 3 low cards. Ideally, are A/2 or A/3, A/4, and if the Aces are suited the chance to Flush adds value.
BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch
Visionary
Bronze Level
Your position dictates what hands you can play in omaha 8 just like any form of poker. You want to play Ace with low cards in multi way pots and preferable from late position so you can see how many folks are entering the pot.
You have to be very careful playing low cards in omaha 8 because those low flops don't come a lot and beginners waste too much chasing a low which is classic sign they they need to work on their game. And sometimes even when you hit the nut low someone else also has the low and you get quartered, lol.
The best way I can make you understand what I'm talking about is like you putting $1 into a pot to usually at best win 50 cents because that's basically what you're doing by focusing on a lot of those low hands. And you don't want to try to go high with A24x anyway because if you hit 2 pair then your opponent will get a higher 2 pair or at least have a chance so you're setting yourself up for trouble or if you just hit the ace then you'll have kicker trouble against someone else holding the other ace.
That game is a lot more complicated than "I'm going to get a low hand and bet it" mentality. Folks need to know regular omaha and the low side of the game, starting hands, position, situation etc. There is a lot to work on.
Good luck folks.
You have to be very careful playing low cards in omaha 8 because those low flops don't come a lot and beginners waste too much chasing a low which is classic sign they they need to work on their game. And sometimes even when you hit the nut low someone else also has the low and you get quartered, lol.
The best way I can make you understand what I'm talking about is like you putting $1 into a pot to usually at best win 50 cents because that's basically what you're doing by focusing on a lot of those low hands. And you don't want to try to go high with A24x anyway because if you hit 2 pair then your opponent will get a higher 2 pair or at least have a chance so you're setting yourself up for trouble or if you just hit the ace then you'll have kicker trouble against someone else holding the other ace.
That game is a lot more complicated than "I'm going to get a low hand and bet it" mentality. Folks need to know regular omaha and the low side of the game, starting hands, position, situation etc. There is a lot to work on.
Good luck folks.