Not long ago, I wrote a post about 7 card stud high-low split, so it's only natural to follow thatup with a discussion of Omaha 8. Like its studly cousin, Omaha 8 is also called Omaha 8 or better and Omaha high-low split.
In fact, it probably should have been written first. Omaha 8 is exponentially more popular than stud 8 – especially in Europe.
At its heart, Omaha poker is just a variation of Texas hold'em with 4 hole cards instead of 2. (You still get 5 community cards on the board in Omaha.) Including the high-low split aspect, thegame takes on an entirely different dimension. This just means that the highest possible poker hand splits the pot with the lowest qualifying low hand.
I mentioned in my post about 7 card stud 8 that pots in these high-low games often get larger than the pots in other games. That's because players see twice as many possibilities to win a pieceof the action. The reality is that a tighter strategy is usually correct for 8 or better games.
Omaha 8 Or Better Starting Hands
A A K K is the best Omaha starting hand, but right next to it is, surprisingly, A A J T as it has much more straight potential than the third-best hand, A A Q Q. Almost all the top 30 hands from our chart have at least one strong pair in them: either A A, K K, Q Q or J J. Only two hands don't have a pair – J T 9 8 and K Q J T. The very best PLO8 and O8 starting hands are known as ‘suited babies', that is to say small suited cards with an ace suited with at least one other card. These hands have the very best chance of scooping both sides of the pot.
Omaha 8 Or Better Strategy
But Omaha has another factor contributing to those large pots. When you put 4 cards into a player's hand to start with (instead of 2 or 3), many players see more possibilities than they wouldotherwise. This drives more action, too.
