Aiming for the high

Today I’m going to talk about playing high hands in Limit Omaha Eight or Better. Everybody already knows that starting with 4 low cards is the best strategy for every Omaha Hi/Lo hand you decide to play. You try to scoop the pot by making the best low along with the best high hand. Scooping is the dream for every hi/lo player.

But in certain situations you can try to play a high only hand. I’m going to try to explain with an example. First of all start playing a standard Omaha Hi/Lo game. Raise with your good hands that include the small cards, preferably including A2. Once you have established that tight image of a good hi/lo player you can try to play a high only hand if the conditions are just right.

Ok let’s say you got AdKcJcTd and are in the cut off. You got faced with a limped pot in front of you containing 4 players. In this spot I would even consider raising. You have built an image of a tight solid player that only raises with good hi/lo hands. If you go and raise in this spot a lot of your opponents will put you on a strong low hand including A2. Nothing could be further away from the truth!

Another reason for raising here is that with all the limpers in front of you the chance that the flop will all be low cards is strongly reduced. People normally come into a hi/low hand holding low cards. And with a lot of players already in the pot a lot of the low cards are already gone.

So opting to raise here might let your opponents think you have a hand including A2. And with the strong possibility of a high flop it is not a bad move in my opinion. If the flop comes high only you are almost sure you got the best hand. Include a possible flush draw and you have a solid strong Omaha hand that can easily win the pot.

What I’m trying to say is you should keep your opponents on their toes. Don’t play your hands the same way every time that’s when you can get predictable and easy to play against. The more people that play a Omaha hi/lo hand, the less likely it is that the board will contain low cards. If you have a strong hand with big suited cards, then you might want to consider playing it because of the possibility of scooping the entire pot. But remember only try this when the situation is exactly right!

Mickey C

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