omaha /hilo basics for newbies

[ubermonkey1]

i sent this pm out to a couple of people who wanted to know how to play hilo but it does also explian the basic rules of normal omaha and the usual newbie mistakes as well. as the game is hi lo you are looking to get a high and a lo hand ,because of this with only one exception you should always play hands that will possibly win you both hands hi and lo,this is the most important thing about the game its called scooping(winning the whole pot) a high hand is as normal poker rules but you must use 2 cards from your hand this is one thing holdem players have trouble with .you cannot just add your ace to make a straight with 10 j q k on the board you must use 2 cards. so you would be ok with a 10 ,a j etc because you can use 2 cards to make the straight. a low hand is the best 5 cards lower than 8 using 2 cards from your hand again. these cards must be diffrent so a2345 is a lo but aa234 is not. a low hand is rated from highest card down so 76543 is better than 84321. 76543 is better than 87643. 6543a is better than 65432 because you are trying to hit a hi and lo at the same time you need a hand for potential with both nearly all the time. so hands like aa23 are very good ,if both are suited its the nuts pre flop. that way you have excellent lo possibilitys plus a high pair and 2 possible flush draws . also hands with 4 low cards below 7 are great, if you get a low board chances are you can hit a nut straight and get the low hand. any aces are always powerfull as they have hi and lo possibilitys:ok so usually i only play hands with 3 low cards hopefully with flush outs or hands like a 2 k j are also very playable ,again suited is preferable. the only exception is a hand with 4 cards over a 9. if a board comes down with 3 cards over a 8 you will almost certainly get some sort of hand ,more than likely a straight draw, or if a high pair comes it will give you trips or full house. also with 3 cards over a 8 nobody can hit a lo(you can't get a lo with only 2 lo cards on the board) ,so the pot will go to the high hand which is good because its a scoop. hands that are good in omaha like 6789 are pretty unplayable in hilo:eekthis is beacause your only going to hit your nut high straight if 3 lo cards are present,if that happens you are already giving up half the pot(somebody will almost certainly have a lo hand) so its really not worth it .so bin em:puke in this game you usually need a higher high hand than in holdem . because you have 4 holecards if a straight or flush appears you will probably be in trouble . people get more cards to draw with, so they have more outs . if you have two pair but a possible straight or flush is on the board be wary ,they probably already have it as they have twice the chance they do in holdem with 4 holecards instead of 2. the most important thing is not to draw for half the pot if thats all you can get, even if you get lucky its like giving up a 50%rake,so do not draw for 1 half of the pot . but if you get a nut hand 1 way( hi or lo )and a possible hand the other way its like a freeroll, keep pushing with the hand, if you get lucky with the other hand you may well scoop the pot. if you have the nuts 1 way and nothing the other you should be carefull:eekespecially if you have a 2 for your lo cards .there is a good chance you will be splitting your lo pot with your opponent so only getting 25%of your bet back. hope this helps ,any questions just ask:ok

[Guppie]

Re: omaha /hilo basics for newbies You didn't mention quad 3s was the nuts mate:tongue2 honest injun