Twitter: Reading complex low boards in Omaha Eight-or-better

Almost all of my previous articles have been about live no-limit cash, but because I am writing this during the WSOP, I figured that I would include some split-pot mixed game strategy here.

June 6 – Understanding the concept of live lows in Omaha eight-or-better is key to value betting and increasing your winrate.

One of the more complicated aspects of Omaha eight-or-better is reading a qualifying low when there are four or more cards under eight on the board. Since Omaha eight-or-better is a form of Omaha, just like in pot-limit Omaha high, you must use exactly two cards from your hand and three from the board.

The key to understanding the strength of the low hand is to realize that you are trying to have the lowest high card in your hand. So in razz terms, a 4-3 low beats an A-5 because the four is lower than the five. Simple, yet important.

So now on to Omaha eight-or-better. Let us say, for example, that we have A-2-J-J on a flop of 8-5-3. We have the nut low, A-2-3-5-8. Now the turn comes an ace. Our low has become “counterfeited” but do we still have a qualifying low? Of course we do. We have what is called a “live” deuce. Live lows refer to one unmatched card that you hold in your hand while the other card pairs the board. There must be four or more unpaired cards on the board below an eight in order to have a live low. Here our low continues to be A-2-3-5-8. However, now that the ace has come, anyone holding two unpaired cards below an eight has a better low than us. Deuce-four would be the nut low for a wheel, 2-6 would be the second-nut low and 4-6 would be the third-nut low. Remember, the low’s strength is based upon the highest card in your hand.

In the above example, a live deuce is a very poor low, as it is an eight low. However, sometimes live low cards can be as strong as the second nut. A common situation like this occurs when a board comes out with four cards lower than a six. Let us say that the board is 6-4-2-3-K. Obviously, the nut low is a wheel with A-5. What is the second nut low? The second best low here would be a live ace, which means you could have A-2, A-3, A-4, or A-6. What about A-7, is that a live ace? No, because instead of playing A-2-3-4-6 as a low, you would play A-2-3-4-7. This is usually where the most confusion comes in with live low cards. People think that if they have two cards that do not pair the board their low is automatically better than someone’s one card “live low.” As you can see here, this is not the case. Confused yet?

Let us take a look at some other board examples. Say the board runs out 6-7-4-3-K. Here the nut low is A-2, the second-nut low is A-5, and the the third-nut low is 2-5. The fourth would be a live ace, and the fifth would be a live deuce. If we had Q-Q-6-2 in our hand, would that beat a player who held A-8-K-J? Yes, as the player with A-8 does not have a live ace, he has a live eight for low, which is not as good as our 2-3-4-6-7 low. What about a live ace versus a 2-5? Well the 2-5 has a 2-3-4-5-6 versus our A-3-4-6-7 low. The six is lower than the seven, so we have a better low. We also by the way, have a six-high straight.

A good rule of thumb is that on eight-high and seven-high boards (meaning the highest low card), live lows are not strong hands, but on six-high boards they are. Let us take a look at another example. Say the board is A-2-3-6-K. What are the first and second-nut lows here? A wheel is always the nut low when there are three or more wheel cards on board, so here the nut low is 4-5. And the second nut low is a live four. So anyone who holds A-4, 2-4, 3-4, or 6-4 holds the second-best low hand. This is very useful knowledge when the river is checked to you. Two pair and a live four is an easy value bet, especially with aces-up, as it is very unlikely that someone is checking 4-5 to you. You can also bet/fold the river in these spots, as someone that raises almost always has a wheel.

There is also an even more complex situation that can occur with reading the board for low, and that is when all five cards come out below an eight unpaired. Say for example the board reads A-2-3-4-7. Anyone that holds a five in their hand with an ace, deuce, trey, or four has a wheel. What is the second-nut low here? Well, if the nut low is A-2-3-4-5, the second-nut low would be A-2-3-4-6, right? And how do we form A-2-3-4-6 on this board? Is it with a live six? Well, let us take a look. If we hold A-6, 2-6, 3-6 or 4-6, our low would be A-2-3-4-6 using two in our hand and three from the board. What about if we held K-K-5-6? In that case, our low would be 5-6 not a live six, and our complete hand would be A-2-3-5-6 for low and 3-4-5-6-7 for high. We would have the third-nut low (we don’t beat a wheel or a live six) but have the nut high. A great hand would be any wheel card plus 5-6, as then we would have a wheel for low and a seven-high straight, which in this hand would be nut/nut. The fourth-nut low here would be what we call “playing the board for low,” which means that our low matches exactly what is on the board, which in this case is A-2-3-4-7. We accomplish this by basically having two or more pair on this board without a five or six in our hand. Say, for example, we hold A-2-3-K. Can we play two in our hand and three on the board for low? Yes. What is our low? It is A-2-3-4-7.

Please don’t let these concepts overwhelm you. With a little practice you will be reading low boards like an all-star. And, especially at the lower levels, it will put you way ahead of your opponents. You also should notice that having a backup low is a big part of forming a good Omaha eight hand. A-K-2-3 is a lot stronger than A-K-2-9 on a K-5-6 board, as now if an ace, deuce or trey appears, you still have the nut low and two pair. ♠