Omaha Hi Lo Starting Hand Guide

Starting hand selection in Omaha Hi Lo is a critical skill. With the pot split between the best high and low poker hands at showdown there are dangers involved in playing for one side of the pot only. Coupled with the 4 starting cards of Omaha poker this leads many players to make errors in starting hand selection which can cost many pots. This article looks at starting hand selection in Omaha Hi-Lo poker and suggests ways of avoiding these common errors.

The temptation in Omaha Hi Lo is to play many strong ‘high’ starting hands in addition to those with possibilities to hit the low. This leads many players to play a larger number of starting hands in this form of poker than in the high-only version. However the danger of being quartered or only winning half the pot actually dictate that less starting hands are profitable in the Hi Lo Omaha game.

Aim to Scoop

Your objective with every hand must be to have the potential to ‘scoop’ both the high and the low side of the pot. This can sometimes be achieved with high-only hands, however low hands with suited and / or connected cards are considered to be the premium starting hands in Omaha Hi Lo.

Hands with aces suited with another low card are particularly strong, these may enable you to hit the nut flush at the same time as the nut low – taking down the entire pot. Aces are strong cards in Omaha Hi Lo as they can contribute to both the high and the low hands at the same time.

Starting hands should ideally contain some ‘backup’ for the low side of the pot. If you hold Ace-Two in your hand and small cards appear on the flop then any ace or two on the turn or river may give someone holding 2-3 or 2-4 the low pot. Having backup in the form of other low cards will somewhat mitigate this danger.

When There's No Low

30% of the time there will be no low hand possible in Omaha Hi Lo – that is the community cards will not show 3 different cards 8 and below. In this event the highest poker hand will win the whole pot. This makes it possible to play high-only hands before the flop for a small bet.

If you hit the flop hard with a high hand opponents may continue playing with draws to the low hand enabling you to win extra bets. If you hold a high only hand and suited or connected small cards appear on the flop then fold at the earliest possible opportunity. Since opponents will favor small connected and suited cards your over-pair (for example) may be drawing dead to an already make straight.

To summarize, the danger of being quartered or having your low hand counterfeited means that strict criteria should be used in selecting Omaha Hi Lo starting hands. The best hands contain small cards which are suited or connected – and ideally an ace. High only hands are playable before the flop but should be folded early when small connected cards appear. 

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