Omaha 5 Cards Strategy
Table Of Contents
If you have played Texas Hold’em or regular Omaha before, then you are at an added advantage as 5 Card PLO has a structure identical to both of those. The game is played the same way with the only notable difference. This difference is that in this game five cards are dealt to. Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo - Specific betting limits are applied in each game. And on each round of betting. Pot Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo - The maximum bet is capped at the total amount in the pot.; No Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo - A player can bet as many chips as they have available.
Here at PokerNews we've previously brought you five different poker games to add to your home game, but this time we're focusing on one particular game format.
With Six Card Omaha quickly becoming all the rage both live and online on PokerStars, there's never been a better time for you to think about adding it to your next home game.
Today we bring you eight reasons why you might think about adding the six-card variant the next time you bring out the chips and cards with friends and family round for a game.
1. Try Something New
Are you tired of Texas hold'em being the only game played every time you host or attend a home game? You're not the only one. Six Card Omaha is one of those games that not many people sitting around your normal home game will have played. That's enough of a reason for you to spread a new format at your next home game.
Even suggesting the idea of trying something new might see a couple of other people agree to leave the tired two-card format at the door for one evening.
2. Prepare for Online
Last week, PokerStars announced that its customers will now be able to play Six Card Omaha online. And with plenty of people looking to jump into this new format, by spreading this at your next home game, you'll be able to accrue some experience before playing online.
One key difference will be the sheer dexterity needed to hold six cards at once, but once you migrate to online you won't have that problem, and you will be able to focus solely on your game.
3. You Might Have an Edge
People often see Six Card Omaha as an action game of pure gambling, but even the most beginner of players can learn a few tips and tricks that will see them be able to hold their own against others.
And when playing against absolute beginners, you should be able to become a winner in Six Card Omaha even with the most basic of Omaha knowledge.
4. Work on your Omaha Game
Even if you're normally an Omaha player, Six Card Omaha will give you the opportunity to brush up on some of your Omaha spots in a completely different game format. While the skills might not be completely transferrable between the six- and four-card formats, you'll certainly be gaining more experience with the Omaha format as time goes on.
5. Deal with More Decisions
As we mentioned earlier, the most important part of Six Card Omaha is the flop. This is because pre-flop 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.
However, once the flop comes you will be left with several decisions to be made and against loose-aggressive players, navigating these decisions might be the difference between winning and losing at your next home game.
WATCH: How Preflop Equity Should Be Seen in 6-Card Pot-Limit Omaha
6. Everyone Loves a Sweat
You'll never find a chapter in any poker strategy book covering the 'sweat' when playing poker, but even the most professional of poker players know that it is an integral part to any poker game.
And the sweats in Six Card Omaha are insane! Think of all the outs you might have if you were all in on the turn with one hand to come! Be sure to bolt the tables down because just imagine what could happen if that one outer happened to come?!
7. Improve your 'Out' Knowledge
Speaking of outs, it's important in any poker format to know how many 'outs' you have to win the hand. With the nuts being especially important in Six Card Omaha, be sure that you know the number of outs and the price you are getting on your call before committing money to the pot.
You can be sure that other players may not know their outs, or may have miscounted, especially if they are weaker or tighter players at your home game.
Take advantage of your poker knowledge by putting them to the test!
8. Loads More Action
If we've said it once, we've said it a million times. There's so much action in Six Card Omaha. There are other ways of inducing action in your home games, but there's no easier way than introducing Six Card Omaha next time you want to have a home game.
5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo is an exciting game derived from Omaha Hi/Lo. Each player in a 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo game is dealt five private cards (‘hole cards’) that belong only to that player. Five community cards are dealt face-up on the ‘board’. All players use exactly two cards from their five hole cards in conjunction with exactly three cards from the board to make the best five-card poker hand possible. The pot is divided between the best hand for high and the best hand for low – hence the name, 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo. You may use different combinations of two cards from your hand to make your high hand and your low hand, but in each hand you must use precisely two from your hand and three from the board – no more, no less. Visit the poker hands page to view the rankings of hands in 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo.
5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo is played with an ‘8 or better’ qualifier, which means that a low hand must consist of five different ranks of cards ranked eight or below, to be eligible to win the low portion of the pot. Low hands in 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo are determined in exactly the same way they’re determined in Omaha Hi/Lo. If there is no qualifying low hand, the high hand wins the entire pot.
5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo uses the ‘Ace to Five’ or ‘California’ system for ranking low hands. Straights and flushes do not count against a hand, and Aces are always low in reading the low hand, so the best possible hand is a ‘wheel’: 5, 4, 3, 2, A. To help understand the ranks of low hands, the following sample qualifying low hands (not a complete list) are ranked from least powerful (#1, will rarely win the low half of the pot) to most powerful (#10, the ‘nuts’):
- 8, 7, 6, 5, 4
- 8, 7, 6, 5, 3
- 8, 6, 4, 2, A
- 8, 4, 3, 2, A
- 7, 6, 5, 4, 2
- 7, 6, 5, 2, A
- 7, 5, 4, 3, 2
- 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
- 6, 4, 3, 2, A
- 5, 4, 3, 2, A
Note that a low hand is always ranked from its highest card downwards. So for example, hand #9 is known as a ‘Six-low’ because its highest card is a Six. Hand #5 is a ‘Seven-low’, and Hand #1 is an ‘Eight-low’. In poker slang, you distinguish between close low hands by going further down the ranks, so hand #9 would be called a ‘Six-Four low’, which beats hand #8, a ‘Six-Five low’.
Also remember that straights and flushes do not count against your low hand, so making a qualifying low that is also a straight or a flush is a very powerful hand, that could win both the high and low halves of the pot, which is called a ‘scoop’.
Types of 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo Games
5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo can be played in the following formats:
- Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo – Specific betting limit applied in each game and on each round of betting.
- Pot Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo – Bets are limited to the amount of chips in the pot.
- No Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo – A player can bet all of the chips they have available.
Rules for Playing 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo
In 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, a marker called ‘the button’ or ‘the dealer button’ indicates which player is the nominal dealer for the current game. Before the game begins, the player immediately clockwise from the button posts the ‘small blind’, the first forced bet. The player immediately clockwise from the small blind posts the ‘big blind’, which is typically twice the size of the small blind, but the blinds can vary depending on the stakes and betting structure being played.
In Fixed Limit games, the big blind is the same as the small bet, and the small blind is typically half the size of the big blind but may be larger depending on the stakes. For example, in a $2/$4 Fixed Limit game the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2. In a $15/$30 Fixed Limit game, the small blind is $10 and the big blind is $15.
In Pot Limit and No Limit games, the games are referred to by the size of their blinds (for example, a $1/$2 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo game has a small blind of $1 and a big blind of $2).
After each player has received their five hole cards, betting action proceeds clockwise around the table, starting with the player ‘under the gun’ (immediately clockwise from the big blind).
Pre-Flop
After seeing his or her hole cards, each player now has the option to play their hand by calling or raising the big blind. The action begins to the left of the big blind, which is considered a ‘live’ bet on this round. That player has the option to fold, call or raise. For example, if the big blind was $2, it would cost $2 to call, or at least $4 to raise. Action then proceeds clockwise around the table.
Note: The betting structure varies with different variations of the game. Explanations of the betting action in Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, Pot Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, and No Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo can be found below.
Omaha 5 Card Strategy
Betting continues on each betting round until all active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets in the pot.
The Flop
After the first round of betting is complete, the ‘flop’ is dealt face-up on the board. The flop is the first three community cards available to all active players. Betting begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. Another round of betting ensues. In Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, all bets and raises on the flop are in increments of the small bet (for example, $2 in a $2/$4 game).
The Turn
When betting action is completed for the flop round, the ‘turn’ is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in a 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo game. Play begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. Another round of betting ensues. In Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, bets and raises on the turn are in increments of the big bet (for example, $4 in a $2/$4 game).
The River
Omaha 5 Cards Strategy Card Game
When betting action is completed for the turn round, the ‘river’ is dealt face-up on the board. The river is the fifth and final community card in a 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo game. Betting begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. A final betting round ensues.
The Showdown
If there is more than one remaining player when the final betting round is complete, the last person to bet or raise shows their cards, unless there was no bet on the final round in which case the player immediately clockwise from the button shows their cards first. The player with the best five-card hand for high wins half the pot, and the player with the best five-card hand for low wins the other half. Remember, in all 5 Card Omaha games, players must use two (and only two) of their five hole cards in combination with exactly three cards from the board. In the event of identical hands, the high and low shares of the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands. In the event that no hand qualifies for low (i.e. is an ‘Eight low’ or better), the best hand(s) for high wins the whole pot.
After the pot is awarded, a new 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo game is ready to be played. The button now moves clockwise to the next player.
Fixed Limit, Pot Limit, and No Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo
5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo rules remain the same for Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit poker games, with a few exceptions:
Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo
Betting in Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo is in pre-determined, structured amounts. Pre-flop and on the flop, all bets and raises are of the same amount as the big blind. On the turn and the river, the size of all bets and raises doubles. In Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, up to four bets are allowed per player during each betting round. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise, and (4) cap (final raise).
Pot Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo
The minimum bet in Pot Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet up to the size of the pot.
Minimum raise: The raise amount must be at least as much as any previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10).
Maximum raise: The size of the pot, which is defined as the total of the active pot, plus all bets on the table, plus the amount the active player must first call before raising.
Example: If the size of the pot is $100, and there is no previous action on a particular betting round, a player may bet a maximum of $100. After that bet, the action moves to the next player clockwise. That player can either fold, call $100, or raise any amount between the minimum ($100 more) and the maximum. The maximum bet in this case is $400 – the raiser would first call $100, bringing the pot size to $300, and then raise $300 more, making a total bet of $400.
In Pot Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.
No Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo
The minimum bet in No Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet as much as they want, up to all of their chips.
Minimum raise: In No Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, the raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10).
Maximum raise: The size of your stack (your chips on the table).
In No Limit 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.
Learn How to Play 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo for Free
If you are unfamiliar with 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, we recommend you try that poker game out to get a feel for how the game is played. You are always welcome to play on the free poker tables at the poker rooms, so that you can sharpen your skills before playing real money poker.