No-Limit Omaha High-Low?

by Matt Lessinger

Print-page
Bookmark

Online poker rooms often spread games that you wouldn't normally see in a brick-and-mortar cardroom. One of them is Omaha high-low split, played in no-limit format (NL O/8). I can't remember ever seeing this game anywhere else, and I wouldn't advise jumping straight from a limit game to NL O/8. They are two completely different animals. I haven't seen anything written about it anywhere else, and since this is the Online Poker News, what better place to discuss a game that's spread only online?

I think there's a tremendous amount that could be written about the game, but for this article, I'll just focus on one question:

What do you do with A-A-X-X before the flop (X-X being anything)?

In a limit O/8 game, it would depend on what the X-X cards were. If I had decent low cards to go with the aces, something like A-A-2-4, I'd lean toward raising. If I had junk with the aces, something like A-A-J-8, I'd probably just call. If I had the same hand with no ace-high flush draws, folding is a reasonable choice. Basically, different side cards could lead you to raise, call, or fold with aces in your starting hand. In a no-limit game, you have the added fourth option of varying the size of your preflop raise. Let's look at those four basic possibilities:

1. Raising all in

I don't think you could really go wrong by moving all in. Yes, it's unimaginative, and yes, you don't stand to win much, but you'll almost always have the best hand preflop, and anyone who calls you without aces is probably making a mistake. However, make sure that your stack is big enough to raise a significant amount. You want to be able to discourage multiple people from calling, since aces do best against one opponent. Also, I would prefer to have one low card with my aces, no matter how bad it is. If someone calls and three low cards come, I'd like to at least have a shot of winning the low side of the pot.

2. Raising small (doubling or tripling the big blind)

I'd favor this play only if I had a truly premium hand, such as A-A-2-3. Well, it wouldn't have to be that good, but I would want a hand with multiple possibilities, like double-suited aces with a deuce or a 3 in there. Basically, with those types of hands, I might take my chances in building a pot, and hopefully get someone else roped in with a second-best hand.

On the other hand, if you have A-A-junk-junk, you really do not want to make a small raise that will lead to seeing a flop. Chances are, you won't like the flop enough to continue with the hand. Plus, other players will mark you as having aces, and they are apt to get aggressive against you with hands like two small pair. Along the same line, if an ace flops, you're not likely to get heavy action, since trip aces is exactly what your opponents will suspect you of having. In most cases, the small raise will just burn your chips.

3. Calling (aka limping)

Calling is an option because opponents won't suspect you of having aces. If you catch a lucky flop like A-10-10, you'll have no problem getting action from someone with a 10 in his hand. If you had raised preflop, someone with a bare 10 would probably tread with more caution.

Some players like to limp in with aces, hoping that someone behind them will raise. Then, when the action gets back to them, they can push all in and hopefully have some extra dead money in the pot. Under normal circumstances, this happens surprisingly few times in NL O/8. In hold'em, it's a lot more common, because there are a lot more raising hands that don't require an ace, such as medium to big pocket pairs. On the other hand, almost any raising hand in NL O/8 should have at least one ace in it, and usually two. Since you have two of them tied up, it's unlikely that someone else will have a raising hand. Plus, if someone else raises, and he is a solid player, he could very well have the other two aces. It then becomes a question of who has the better side cards, and if your other two cards aren't that strong, you certainly don't want to risk your entire stack.

However, that is assuming you have intelligent opposition. You might have a maniac in your game who seems to raise before every flop. In that situation, I would look to limp/reraise. Other players probably notice that he is raising every flop, so they won't give his raise much respect. You'll limp in, he'll raise, he'll probably get some callers, and then when the action gets back to you, you can lower the boom.

4. Folding?

I know, it almost seems sacrilegious to fold aces preflop, but I've done it before. Let's put it this way: If a few players limp, and then a solid player pushes all in, even though you have aces, you have to consider the possibility that he has the other two. Now, if you have a hand like A-A-10-9 with no suits, how good can you feel about it? You have no low possibility, and chances are, you're a significant underdog. I'm not going broke with a hand like that. If you don't feel comfortable risking your entire stack on a single hand, there's no law that says you have to do it - even with aces.

Let's see a flop …

In general, opponents don't make the majority of their mistakes before the flop. They have a fairly good idea of what hands they should or shouldn't be playing. It's after the flop that they make most of them. I'd rather see a flop and know how strong my hand really is, and then commit more of my money if I'm a favorite. Then if they call, it's their mistake, and that leads to my profit.

It's not like hold'em, where you're thrilled to have someone call an all-in bet preflop if you have A-A. In that case, you're at least a 7-2 favorite (approximately). In NL O/8, you won't get anywhere close to that kind of advantage before the flop. So, if you're like me, and you're not comfortable risking your entire stack with a hand that might be only a marginal favorite, maybe you're better off seeing what the flop brings.

Matt Lessinger's "Bet With Less" column appears in Card Player magazine. He can be found playing online at RoyalVegasPoker.com, where he is a member of its team of experts, and can be reached at mlessinger@hotmail.com.

Back to the Latest Issue
 

O.P.N. Newsletter