Outlining Some Common Errors Made Omaha High/Low Players
This text has been prepared by The Eureka Kid, on behalf of TheOmahaSplit.com
Bluffing
Very often it is going to take the nuts to rake in a pot, someone generally has it to. Not to say that you shouldn't bluff in Omaha 8, but opportunities are rare and generally best identified by more experienced players.
Drawing to the Non-Nuts
Drawing to the second or third best low hand, to straights and flushes on a paired board and non-nut flushes is a sure fire way to leak money at Omaha High/Low.
Drawing to a Running Low
If the flop doesn't fit your hand, particularly when your low geared starting hand fails to flop a low draw, you should generally fold. There are some occasions where there are good enough pot odds to justify chasing a runner-runner. However, a lot of players chase runner-runner low draws all too often in Omaha High/Low and it is a key leak in their game.
Lack of Patience
A tight/aggressive approach is generally a winning strategy at Omaha High/Low. Most players are capable of playing in this manner for short periods of time, but when good starting hands start to go bad and draws start to miss things can go amiss. It is key to keep a long term focus when at the tables and not let yourself loosen up too much. One bad session can undo hours of hard work and toil, don't let that be you. Omaha High/Low has a slow hand rate because of its complicated and loose nature, a winning player will fold a lot of starting hand combinations as well as to a lot of flops that don't fit their hand. If you are not willing to have the patience to wait out extended periods of inaction and you lack discipline then Omaha High/Low is not your game.
Miscounting Outs
The counting of outs becomes more complicated in Omaha High/Low than in other community card games. The fact that the pot is often split, must factor into your calculation of how much your outs are actually worth. Yes, if you hit your flush you have the nut high hand, but if the flush card makes a low possible you are only going to win half the pot a lot of the time. It must also be considered that even if you make the nut hand on the turn, an opponent may redraw on the river either to take the low, capture the high or both.
Not Playing The Situation
At lower limits Omaha High/Low games can be beaten by following rigid starting hand requirements and post-flop analysis. However, as the limits get higher, the players get better and this strategy becomes less effective. The number of players in the pot, the looseness of the game, the aggressiveness of it's players are just some of the factors that more advanced players start to consider.
Overplaying Big Pairs
Players that covert from other flop games, such as texas hold 'em tend to overvalue big pairs in the hole, particularly aces. The main problem that arises with big pair hands is that with no decent low to go along with them, such as with hands like AAJ8 and KKT2, it is rare that these hands can scoop. Big pairs struggle hold up to win the high side of the pot at the best of times, and with no low cards it is impossible scoop if a low is present.
Playing for Half the Pot
When three low cards flop and you don't have any decent low in your hand, it is usually incorrect to continue in the hand without a very strong high hand. Flopping a set in this situation usually warrants a fold, something that texas hold 'em converts struggle with at first. Needless to say, in these situations you should avoid continuing with high draw hands unless the pot odds warrant.
The same thinking applies to nut low draws when you don't have any high hand or high hand draw of substance. For example, many poor players continue with a hand like A-2-7-J when the flop is something like 8-5-K.
Raising Out Callers With A One-Way Lock
When you have a hand where you have a lock on one half of the pot, but no real claim to the other half of the pot it is sometimes in your best interests to play it more passively and keep players involved in the hand. If you are fairly sure you will be splitting the pot, the more callers, the larger the half of the pot that you lay claim to. Contrasting this, if you believe that other players are weak and a bet or raise can take down the whole pot, you should do so. However, many players who are starting out exercise poor judgment and tend to raise out potential value from the hand through their over eagerness.
Tilt
In Omaha Hi-Lo, particularly limit where you can't effectively raise out draws, you are going to get sucked out on a lot. Additionally, no pre-flop hand is a big favourite over another and even the best of starting hands can, and regularly do, go wrong. The ability to remain in control of your emotions and stay of tilt is key to winning at Omaha Hi-Lo.
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