Playing A-3 in Omaha High-Low

Some people say that there isn’t much skill involved in Omaha high-low. It is clearly more difficult to judge what your opponents might be holding in a high-low game. But having two ways of winning creates more opportunities to exercise good judgment. And knowing what cards generally win and understanding what cards should be folded gives a good player more opportunities to make advantageous decisions. They say that hold’em is a game of high cards and seven-card stud is a game of live cards. I submit that Omaha high-low is a game of opportunistic cards.

The “opportunistic” holding that frightens me perhaps the most in Omaha high-low is the one containing A-3 (like pocket jacks in hold’em). Although A-3 is clearly one of the better holdings, you occasionally are threatened with losing a number of double-size bets to an A-2 on the last two rounds of betting. But when a deuce and one or two other low cards flop, the sun doth shine on your A-3.

After the evening sessions of a recent bridge tournament in Las Vegas, two “Omaholic” bridge friends and I visited the Mirage to play in a lively $5-$10 Omaha high-low game (with a full kill). And all three of us had winning sessions all three nights that we played.

In middle position, I picked up the A 3 J 7. I called, and we had six-way action. I do not recommend raising preflop with most A-3 hands, except perhaps in an unusually loose game. A raise will not fold an A-2, but it might fold some worse hands that you would rather have donating. And since an A-3 is potentially a second-best hand, it is probably best not to increase the stakes until you actually like the situation.

Note that in a 10-handed game, if you hold an A-3 and the board has three low cards between 4 and 8, one or more of the other nine players will hold an A-2 about 50 percent of the time. And one or more of the other players will hold another A-3 about 40 percent of the time. Your A-3 will be an untied low winner only about 30 percent of the time.

If you are playing an A-3 in a nine-handed game and there are three low cards between 4 and 8 on the board, one of the other eight players will hold an A-2 about 45 percent of the time, or another A-3 about 37 percent of the time. And your A-3 will be an untied low winner about 35 percent of the time. (These percentages were obtained from computer simulations with an A-3-J-7 hand and an 8-6-4 flop.)

Meanwhile, back at the Mirage, the flop came 10 5 2. So now, with that pretty deuce in the flop, I had the nut-low draw. It was checked to me, so I bet, knowing that I would hit a 4, 6, 7, or 8 with two cards coming well over half the time (actually, about 56 percent of the time).

Three players called. The 6 turned, giving me the nut low. It was checked to me, I bet, the next player called, and the last player raised. The first player folded. I chose not to reraise, for fear of losing the caller and being tied for low. The caller once again called.

The river card was the J. I bet, the next player called, and the last player raised. I realized that the raiser might have me tied for low, but now that I had a pair of jacks for high, I decided to reraise to try to fold the caller. It worked. Faced with two (and probably three) double-size bets, he reluctantly folded his two pair. It turned out that my jacks won high, so I won three-fourths of the pot.

Yes, there is some luck in Omaha — and in hold’em — and in any form of poker. But in Omaha, you will encounter many situational opportunities to make money — or to save money. And the more opportunities that a good player has, the more likely he is to win.

Formerly a career lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice, Mike Cappelletti has written numerous books on poker and bridge, and is considered to be one of the leading authorities on Omaha. Mike has also represented the U.S. in international bridge competition, and he and his wife were featured in a four-page Couples Section in People magazine. His books include Cappelletti on Omaha, Poker at the Millennium (with Mike Caro), and Omaha High Low Poker.