Starting hands in Omaha. Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo: effective game strategies

In order to successfully play Omaha, you need to be able to identify good and bad starting hands in Omaha. Omaha differs from Hold'em primarily in that there are not two, but four starting cards - so loose Hold'em players will feel more confident than tight ones.

It must be taken into account that the value starting hands in Omaha is just as big as in Hold'em, so you don't have to enter the game with any cards. For example, having four aces or a king in your hand, you don’t need to rejoice, since this is a rather weak hand even compared to 7272 – and at a long table it is better to fold it immediately.

The best starting hands in Omaha are high and suited pocket pairs. For example - AAKK, where aces and kings are of the same suit. Also here can be attributed - AAQQ, KKQQ, etc.

Pair and suited connectors. For example, KKJ10, QQ109 and the like.

Four consecutive cards. For example, 6789, JQKA. It is especially good if they are also suited - i.e. two cards of the same suit and two of the other.

You can also play two small couples(eg 2233, 4455, etc.), suited cards (eg two hearts and two diamonds) and card combinations that could potentially make a straight.

Starting hands in Omaha Hi/Lo

The best starting hand in Omaha Hi-Lo is considered to be A234, and it is best when an ace and any of the cards are of the same suit. AK34, AA23, AAKK are also considered excellent starters.

Good starting hands are 2345, A233, A244, A255.

You can also play 234x, where "x" is any card (preferably high). KKQQ, QQJJ, KK1010 and the like are suitable to make a strong combination. 910JQ etc. – well suited to collect a straight. 23KQ - suitable for both high and low combinations.

The main thing you have to consider in Omaha Hi Lo is that you have to make either the highest hand or the lowest hand, so it is better to fold with a medium hand.

You need to understand its cardinal differences. And now we will talk about selecting strong starting hands for PLO. You need to understand that most of the hands here will not be as strong as it might seem at first glance.

Even if you have two out of four cards that are aces, this does not mean that your hand is ideal to play. Even if you have control of two suits (for example, two diamonds and two clubs), this does not mean that you have to enter the game.

To become a strong winning PLO player, you need to work on many aspects of the game. And the most important aspect can safely be called the ability to choose right hands to start (in other words, hand selection).

Four cards that work well together

In pot-limit Omaha, you get four cards in your hand, just like every other player at the table. Remember the main rule: all your four cards must be in contact with each other. They must create a strong combination of cards that will contain nut draws, re-draws, backdoors, large cards, big pocket pairs, suited combos and .

If you got cards like A K 6 6♣, you will surely like them, because you have big cards with and pocket pair. But do not rush to rejoice, in Omaha everything is not so simple.

In fact, this is not the best preflop combination. And that's why:

• your ace and king are not connected to pocket sixes so that a straight draw is possible
• if you make a set, chances are you won't have a re-draw to a stronger hand
• if you flop a set, there could be a lot of overcards on the board, and your set of sixes could lose to an older set
• if you flop and make a flush, your opponents won't have a second nut flush and you won't get value
• if you make a pair, it will be difficult for you to make a second pair, because you have a pocket pair in your hands

Now let's say you have J♦9♦8♠7♠ Again, this is not the best hand. Why? At first glance, it seems that with such a starting hand, you can make a lot of straights and two flushes. But in this combination there is a “hole” (there is no ten, four cards do not go in a row), so in fact it will be quite difficult to collect straights.

If there was no "hole" in your hand - for example, you have T♦9♦8♠7♠ in your hand - the situation would be more profitable. Then you would hit any flop with QJ, JT, J9, J8, J7, T6, 96, 86, 76, or 65. Also, if you had two pair on the flop, this would additionally give you and .

Aces and other big pocket pairs

Now it's time to talk about the famous aces. Hands like AAxx are always good preflop and should be played.

But it's worth remembering key moment: PLO is primarily a post-flop game. Preflop with two aces, you should play aggressively, but don't forget the whole situation. There are major factors that should influence how you play PLO even with a pocket of aces: position, your stack size, and the other two cards in your hand.

For example, you have A♣A 9♦4♠ and your opponent has J♠T♠8 5 . In this situation, you only have 52% chance that your hand will win by the river. That is, in other words, with such a hand (“bad aces”) you play almost a coin flip. If the game was held'em instead of PLO, then your A♣A aces would be 79.2% against J♠T♠ and 79.5% against 8 5 .

As you can see, aces that aren't connected to the other two hole cards aren't that strong in PLO. Therefore, depending on the situation, you should play them quite carefully (and maybe even limp).

Finally, consider the situation where you have Q♦Q♠ 7 2♣. You probably already guess that this hand cannot be called very strong. It is immediately noticeable that all four cards are not interconnected as we would like. Even if you hit your set of queens, you won't have any re-draws or backdoors.

Against this hand, an opponent with A♠9 6 4♠ would be a 52.2% favorite. But in hold'em, pocket queens against A♠9 would be just fine - 72% to win. All of this means that you shouldn't put too much into the pot with this hand.

Conclusion

Hopefully these examples will show you the importance of a good hand preflop and how it will help you in your postflop play. These are just basic guidelines, but rest assured that if you start practicing some of the principles outlined in this article, your game and results will already start to improve.

Keep improving your Omaha game and good luck at the tables!

Classification of starting hands in Omaha Hi Lo(Hi Lo) is very different from regular Omaha (PL and NL). In Omaha Hi-Lo, the pot is divided between the strongest hand (Hi hand) and the weakest hand (Lo hand up to 8). In accordance with this, the player needs to select strong starting hands that have a chance to win the pot on High or Low combinations, and ideally on both combinations. Therefore, all starting hands in Omaha Hi-Lo can be divided into three main categories.

Strong starting hands

– this hand is ideal for both low and high combinations. You have every chance to make such a high combination as high flush, high pair, low straight or higher. You also have the three lowest cards, which allows you to collect low hand. And even if the flop comes an ace, deuce or three of a kind, you still have the two lowest cards that will allow you to make a nut low hand.

- suited aces and kings are the strongest starting cards for playing high combinations. By playing this hand, you expect to take half the pot only on the highest combination, or hope that no one will collect Low, and you will take the whole pot. Be that as it may, suited aces and kings are a very strong hand in Omaha Hi-Lo.

- a great starting hand to win the hand on the low of the combination. Even if you have a hit in a pair, and you still have the lowest cards to collect Low. In addition, you still have good chances to collect senior hand– senior flush, straight or two pair.

Good starting hands

- this hand does not give you the opportunity to collect Low, but you definitely have the four highest cards for the High combination. Therefore, if the flop comes high cards, you will certainly be ahead of your opponents.

- a suited ace and a low pair. This hand is also very playable and has a good chance of improving on the flop. You can play both low and high combinations.

– good hand for playing on Lowe's hand. Your hand is well protected in the event of a pair card, but in order to win on a low combination, in most cases you need an ace on the flop. You also have a good chance of making a straight and winning the pot with the highest hand.

Medium hands

– this hand still allows you to make both low and high combinations. But you need to play it carefully, especially under the Low hand, since opponents may have lower cards. The same goes for a flush, even if you make a flush, be careful because in Omaha there is a high chance that opponents have a higher flush.

Who doesn't know the limit hold'em hand chart? Tables with slight variations appeared on the Internet 10 years ago, in books even earlier. The situation is much more complicated with unlimited game options, where a lot depends on the opponents and the style in which we will play against them.

But be that as it may, we need a basic understanding of what to enter the game with - what to fold, what to call with, what to press the bet pot button with (the maximum allowable raise size).

At one time, professor of poker mathematics Henry Hutchison was one of the first to create a table of starting hands for pot-limit Omaha (long table). He summarized the extensive results of statistical research in a table where points were awarded or subtracted for certain combinations of cards. According to his methodology, preflop decision making depends on the following factors:

– are there high cards, and how many? If yes, then add so many points;

Are there two cards of the same suit? If yes, then add so many points;

Are there three cards of the same suit? If so, subtract so many points;

Thus, summing up a number of signs, we get a certain number. If it is greater than N, the hand must be raised, if it is greater than M, but at the same time less than N, it is necessary to call, while the rest must be folded.

After analyzing my experience of the game (at the time of reading Hutchison's book I played about 250,000 hands of Omaha), I realized that the value of the table is very high, but at the same time it is almost not applicable in practice. The fact is that a professional player with extensive experience plays starting hands already subconsciously, focusing on the “image” (just these are the sets of features, according to Hutchison) of the hand, and does not count points. For a beginner, on the contrary, it is too difficult.

Combining Hutchison's ideas with my personal experience, as well as taking into account the "playability" of the hand postflop, I created my own table of starting hands. You can play it on a table of any length, I screwed up the ranges so much. We will play the flop very conservatively, given that your Omaha poker battles are just getting started. It's like a temporary dam - we need to "feel" the game, understand its course. Later when we talk about different styles playing and fighting against specific opponents, a lot will change, and you yourself will intuitively feel that the poker tables are just the base camp at the beginning of a long and difficult climb.

Group 1. Premium couples.

AAxx. Raizim first, on the opponent's reraise we rearrange again - to all-in.

KKxx. Raise first, call the raise before us. Fold to reraise.

Example: our hand. We raise/reraise any opponent's bet.

Group 2. Any four cards from A to 10.

Bet first, call the raise. If the pot is larger than 30 big blinds, fold.

Example: our hand. If there were no raises before us, we bet, if there were, we make a call.

Group 3. Two couples.

We enter the pot with a call. We call the raise, fold to a raise and reraise if there are less than two opponents in the pot.

Example: our hand , call.

Group 4. Ace-king double-suited (AXsKXs).

and more challenging games than Hold'em, if only because you have a lot more starting hands and combination options. If you have never played Omaha, then before reading this article, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the basic the rules of the game.

Since there are four starting cards, it is very important that you understand the starting hand requirements in both versions. By making poor decisions about which hand to play and which to fold, you can significantly reduce your bankroll. Too many new Omaha players fall prey to common myths about what starting hands to play.

Allows you to fight for both high and low pots, so the starting hands chart in this version is significantly different from the list of profitable starting hands in Omaha Hi, as the goal here is to win both pots. Keep this in mind when planning your tactics before starting a hand.

To the list the best hands for Omaha Hi-Lo includes:

While this chart provides you with a basic breakdown of the best Omaha Hi-Lo starting hands, you should be aware that the list is actually much longer because " x» can be very different cards. Suited hands are significantly stronger than offsuit hands, even if they fall into the same category. Suited hands give you more chances for flushes and full houses. At the same time, in Omaha Hi-Lo, most cards with a value of 5-9 will not bring significant benefits. In good position, they can help you pick up a couple of blinds at a loose table.

Top Ten Hi-Lo Starting Hands

1. A-A-2-3 two suits

2. A-A-2-4 two suits

3. A-A-2-3 suited

4. A-A-2-5 two suits

5. A-A-2-4 suited

6. A-A-3-4 two suits

7. A-A-2-3 offsuit

8. A-A-2-2 two suits

9. A-A-3-5 two suits

10. A-A-2-6 two suits

Playable starting hands in Omaha Hi-Lo

A-A-2-x

A-2-x-x (same suit)

2-3-4-5 (This hand depends on an ace on the flop. If there is no ace on the flop, you should fold)

2-3-4-x (Another hand that depends on an ace on the flop. If an ace doesn't come on the flop, then fold after the first bet)

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