Omaha Poker Best Starting Hands

Online Poker » Poker Strategy » Omaha » Starting Hands

1. Best Starting Hands In Hi Lo Omaha Poker
2. Best Starting Hands In Omaha Poker
3. Omaha Poker Best Starting Hands
4. Omaha Poker Best Starting Hands Games
5. Omaha Poker Best Starting Hands Wins

One favorite starting hand for Omaha is A-A-J-10 (double suited), because of its wider range for making the nut straight (J-7, Q-8, K-9, and A-10). For the Hi-Lo variation, the most valuable starting holding is A-A-2-3 (double suited). Online Poker » Poker Strategy » Omaha » Starting Hands. From my experience playing poker, I have to be quite honest here. Even with all the various kinds of poker resources available to players such as books, online training programs and various strategy articles, I am still amazed when I see players sit down only to play every single hand they are dealt.

From my experience playing poker, I have to be quite honest here. Even with all the various kinds of poker resources available to players such as books, online training programs and various strategy articles, I am still amazed when I see players sit down only to play every single hand they are dealt. And whenever they are questioned about their wonderful array of starting hands, the excuses are endless; 'there were two face cards, one of them was an ace, they were connected, both were suited.'

You know, I suppose this is an arguably reasonable strategy since these players are bound to catch a hand at some point. Ok, yes, I am joking. Playing every hand has to be single handedly the reason for the downfall of so many player's bankrolls.

This major leak is only amplified when players sign up to play Omaha or Omaha 8 or better since players are being dealt four cards instead of two. The possibilities seem endless then and players seem to find any reason possible to be involved in a hand.

Well, that ends now. What I have done below is highlight the hands that players need to focus on playing and the hands that need to be thrown away in our Omaha and Omaha 8 or better starting hand guide.

Hands to Play in Omaha/Omaha 8 or Better

One of the most important things to keep in mind when playing Omaha or Hi/Lo is that this game is about the 'nuts.' Since there will be so many potential draws out there, players should always play for the nut high or when applicable, the nut low. So, first let's look as some solid Omaha Hi hands and then we'll take a look at lo starting hands.

Omaha Hi

When playing Omaha players need to keep a few things in mind. To begin with, it is important when choosing a starting hand that you are starting a hand that is giving you the most possible outs possible. Let's look at a couple examples:

• Ad-Ah-As-Ac -Bad Hand
• Ad-Kd-As-Ks -Best Hand

Ok, so many of you may be wondering, why would 4 aces be bad to have as starting cards? Well, when choosing a starting hand you want to start with a hand that is going to give you the most outs possible to the best hand. While a pair of A's is a strong hand, 4 A's in the hole doesn't do you any good because now they aren't available for outs. Does that make sense? This will also apply to having 4 flush cards in the hole as well. Those would be two less flush outs that you have to draw to.

Now, a pair of Aces and Kings in the hole is a great hand and in fact, when they are double suited they are arguably the best starting hand in Omaha. This is because you have both a pair of aces and kings to use in the case you hit trips, there are multiple outs to nut straight and flush draws and these are 4 cards that no one else will be able to use as outs. Aside from a pair of aces and kings double suited, here is a short list to get you started:

• A-A-K-K Double Suited
• A-A-J-T Double Suited
• A-A-Q-Q Double Suited
• A-A-J-J Double Suited
• A-A-10-10 Double suited
• A-A-9-9 Double Suited
• A-A-x-x (x=any card)
• J-T-9-8 Double Suited
• K-K-Q-Q
• K-K-J-J

Ok, there is a top ten list to go by when you sit down to play Omaha Hi. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you want to draw to the nuts and have the most outs to do so. A great example of this would be the fact that J-T-9-8 ranks higher than K-K-Q-Q; there are more possibilities with a hand like J-T-9-8 double suited than K-K-Q-Q such as straights and flushes.

So, always be sure you are starting with these types of hands, preferably double suited, and that should make your life much easier in Omaha Hi.

Omaha Hi/Lo

When I first got started in Omaha Hi/Lo, I thought it was exactly the same as Omaha Hi except now you can chase both the Hi's and Lo's. Sadly, I was mistaken; and here is why.

The goal in Omaha isn't to just win just the Hi half of the pot or just the Lo the half, but to 'scoop' the entire thing. This is done by having both the best hand that qualifies for both. To put this quite simply, this cannot be done with just a Hi hand because Hi cards cannot qualify for a lo. On the other hand, a Hi/Lo win is quite achievable starting with a Lo hand because you are already drawing to a low but if you hit a straight or a flush, then you can qualify for the high as well. This is very important to remember. Now, here is a short list of starting hands for the Hi/Lo games:

• A-A-2-3
• A-A-2-4
• A-A-2-5
• A-A-3-4
• A-A-3-5
• A-A-4-5
• A-2-3-4

Here is a good list to get you started. I didn't include the high hands because they are listed above and to be quite honest, those really are mediocre hands in Hi/Lo and should only be played when you have position and are in a pot with as few players as possible. Again, the lo hand can draw to both Hi/Lo pots and Hi can only draw to Hi.

Lastly, it is important to avoid medium pairs and straights such as 7-8-9-10 or something similar because you would simply be catching the higher end of a Lo draw and the lower end of a Hi draw. This is quite dangerous and more times often then not, you will find yourself being second best.

Starting Hands in Omaha

When getting started in Omaha or Omaha Hi/Lo it would be in a player's best interest to use our starting hand guide above and not deviate too far from it for a while. Omaha is a 'nuts' game and the sooner you have that memorized, the better off you will be. If anything else, just remember that in terms of starting hands in Omaha or any poker game for that matter, 'less is more.'

Table Of Contents

First, we had Pot-Limit Omaha. Then we had Big O which increased the number of hole cards to five. Now say hello to Big O's even bigger brother - Six Card Pot Omaha which is now available to play online on PokerStars!

PokerStars has started spreading the game variant on its dot-com and dot-EU clients from the micro stakes $0.05/0.10 up to $50/$100.

This is the latest new variant that PokerStars have brought to their platform, after variants such as Split Hold'em, 6+ Hold'em and Unfold

If you're not familiar with Omaha, then why not learn how to play Omaha or read our Omaha poker strategy tips?

How Does Six Card Omaha Work?

The only real difference from 'normal' Omaha is the number of cards dealt to each person. The main rule that a player must use two cards from their hand, along with three from the board, remains the same. In Six Card Omaha this means you must use two of your six hole cards with exactly three of the community cards in order to make your hand.

What are the best Six Card Omaha starting hands?

In four-card Omaha, you have six possible two-card combinations to make your best poker hand. In Big O this increases to ten combinations. However, in Six Card Omaha, you have a potential 15 starting hand combinations across your starting six hands.

This means that you should be looking for more than just suited aces or kings in your starting hand. Make sure that you have as many flush and straight combinations as possible, but at the same time ensure that you can be drawing to the nuts as often as possible. Why, then just read one!

Playing the Flop in Six Card Omaha

Best Starting Hands In Hi Lo Omaha Poker

You won't know truly how strong your starting hand is until the flop. This is because Six Card Omaha is a flop-driven game. You are looking for hands that can easily make the absolute nuts, therefore the more co-ordinated your hand is pre-flop, the more potential you have.

The more your cards work together to make straight, flush, and full house opportunities, the better. You must be able to evaluate these opportunities once you've reached the flop.

Best Starting Hands In Omaha Poker

What is a Dangler in Six Card Omaha?

Omaha Poker Best Starting Hands

In four-card Omaha, you will be looking for all four of your cards to work together and complement one another. Take for example. You have double-suited aces, with two flush draws to go with your aces. You also have and which could both make straights.

A 'dangler' is a hand that does not do this and is unrelated to the rest of your hole cards. You must be aware of these when you choose your starting hands, because often you will have to play a Six Card Omaha hand with a dangler. If you didn't, and only waited for the 'dream hand' then you would hardly enter any pots at all. Just be careful to avoid those hands that are completely uncoordinated.

Omaha Poker Best Starting Hands Games

So what are you waiting for? Head over to PokerStars now to become the first to play Six Card Omaha

Omaha Poker Best Starting Hands Wins

• Related Room

  Full Tilt