Four hole cards are generally better than having just a pair, but they still won’t help you take the pot home without proper strategizing. Here are a few tips to make you a winner in Omaha Hi/Lo poker.

Revisit Rules of Omaha Hi/Lo
Your losing streak in Omaha Hi/Lo may not be due to ineffective strategies but is rather caused by your lack of familiarity and proficiency with the rules of Omaha Hi/Lo. So let’s revisit them again, shall we?

Omaha Hi/Lo, also known as Omaha 8 or Better, is a poker variant that allows for splitting the pot. It is only similar to Texas Hold’em in the sense of its community style of playing.

Omaha Hi/Lo gives players four hole cards each, two of which they may keep private while the other two must be visible or placed faced-up on the table. The rest of the rules are similar to Omaha Hi, but only this time low and high hands both win. To qualify for a low hand, none of your hole cards must be higher than 8. Finally, Aces may be counted either as high or low, depending on how you wish to use it. Neither straights nor flushes can be counted as low hands.

Strategizing for Omaha Hi/Lo

Go for the Entire Pot
In Omaha Hi/Lo, one of the golden rules is never to settle for second best, and in this case, that would mean settling for a split of the pot. If you aim to win, aim to win big, and that means getting the entire pot.

Thus, when the flop’s revealed on the table and your hand doesn’t qualify you for both, you should start mitigating potential losses now by either sticking to checking or folding early in the game. Remember: discretion is the better part of valor so don’t let your pride completely rule your decision and preventing you from folding when a retreat’s the best decision to make!

Take Advantage of Your Position on the Table
The rotating movement of the dealer button ensures that each player gets to try different positions on the table. It’s important to include positioning in your Omaha Hi/Lo strategy. As the last player on the table to move, you should take advantage of your position by pursuing hands that are weaker than you normally bet on. Since everyone else will make a move before you, you can take the time to study their actions and use it to help you determine your best move.

If you aren’t posting the blinds, you should also use this to do your best in forcing those who did post them into a corner. With their backs against the wall, they’re more liable to make bad decisions.

Unique Aspects of Omaha Hi/Lo
Be aware that not all poker strategies may be uniformly applicable. Middle suited connecting cards, for instance, may give you hope to cling to in Omaha Hi or Texas Hold’em but in Omaha Hi/Lo, they virtually amount next to nothing.

Less is More
Or to be more specific, lower hands tend to be more powerful in Omaha Hi/Lo. Having a high hand alone is not enough. Watch out for the flop because consecutive or suited cards can right away give players with low hands a chance to get high hands as well.

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If you’re raring for something new outside stud and draw poker then why not try your hand at community card poker? Community card poker games can get terribly exciting as they give more clues about a player’s possible hand with the use of board cards.

Texas Hold’em Poker
Often referred to as the Cadillac of Poker, Texas Hold’em is arguably the most popular poker variant today, sweeping across Europe and the United States and dominating online and real-time casinos. Texas Hold’em can easily allow eight to ten players to compete against each other.

Players are dealt with a pair of hand cards each. The first two players to the dealer’s left will post the small and big blind respectively. Succeeding players can then either call, raise the bet, or fold. The first three board cards revealed make up the flop and initiate another round of betting. The cycle will continue as the fourth (turn) and fifth (river) card is revealed. If all five board cards make the best possible hand, the pot shall be divided equally among the players.

Omaha
This poker variant is often confused with Texas Hold’em but is, in fact, different in two notable ways. Firstly, players are dealt with four cards each rather than just two hole cards. Secondly, the best winning combination must be made up of exactly two hole cards and three from the board. No other combination is acceptable.

Omaha High follows the same hand ranking in traditional poker games while Omaha Hi/Lo subscribes to another set of rules. In Omaha Hi/Lo, players are allowed to split the pot. In this case, players with the lowest and highest hand are qualified to win.

Players can aim to scoop the pot or have the highest and lowest hand at the same time, which therefore negates any possibility of splitting your winnings with other players. Players also have the option of having two separate hands, just as long as they still subscribe to the two-hand and three-board card combination.

To qualify for a low hand, your cards must have values equal to eight or lower. Pairs are not considered as low hands but flushes and straights may pass as low.

Royal Hold’em
This is another variation of Texas Hold’em. It’s played with a stripped deck, wherein everything but aces, kings, queens, jacks, and tens are taken out of the game.

Double Board Hold’em
Yet another variant of Texas Hold’em, this game makes use of two sets of community cards, with each row consisting of five cards. Players with the highest hand for each row wins. It is also occasionally referred to as double-flop hold’em.

Pineapple
This poker variant is a cross between Omaha and Texas Hold’em. There are several ways to play Pineapple. In all versions, players are dealt three cards each.

In the Lazy Pineapple or Tahoe version, players are given the option to use none or just one instead of the usual minimum two of his hole cards. In Crazy Pineapple, players can only discard one of their hole cards prior to the fourth street. Both versions are often played hi-lo.