• 5 Card Omaha Best Starting Hands Ever
• Best Hands In 5 Card Omaha
• Omaha Strategy Starting Hands
• 5 Card Omaha Best Hands

Omaha Poker starting hands differ from Texas Holdem in that you are dealt 4, rather than 2 cards. When the best hand is made at showdown this comprises 2 (and only 2) from your hand and 3 from the 5 cards on the board. The best starting hands in Omaha poker are those in which the 4 hole-cards work together – giving you multiple ways to hit the flop.

Your 4 hole-cards in Omaha actually contain 6 combinations of the 2 cards that you will need to use in a showdown. A player is dealt cards A-B-C and D, the combinations are as follows A-B, A-C, A-D, B-C, B-D and C-D.

1. The Best Hand While every thoroughbred Omaha player may have their own personal favorite hand, A, A, 2, 3 (double suited), is the best hand to be armed with in Omaha hi-lo.
2. The best starting hands in Omaha Hi-Lo are double-suited Aces with low side cards, such as AA23 ds and AA24ds. Double-suited AK32 or A432 are strong hands as well. You should generally aim to play hands containing A2xx and high suits in Omaha Hi-Lo.

It's crucial to understand how spread out the distribution of equity is in Omaha starting hands. In Hold'em the No. 1 starting hand (A♥ A♠) holds 83% preflop equity over the second-best starting hand (K♥ K♠). In Omaha the best starting hand (A♥ A♠ K♥ K♠) is only 33% to win (41% to tie) against the second-best starting hand (A. 5 Card Omaha is an Omaha poker variant. To the untrained eye, it might initially look like AsAdJsTs is the stronger holding because it has 3 spades instead of just two. In PLO there are a total of 16,432 different starting hands, made up of all the possibilities that result from the 270,725 stochastically possible combinations. With group 3 flush hands, there really is no merit in playing them.

The best way to look at Omaha starting hands is to understand that all of your opponents have the same 6 combinations of the 2 showdown cards. You then work backwards to ask this question – what cards would I need to hold to maximize my chances against a number of players? This could mean 6, 12 or even 24 possible combinations against you.

What this large number of combinations means is that hole-cards with the potential to make straights and flushes go up in value, while those with only high-card value go down. On any one flop there are likely to be a combination of flush and straight draws, in a multi-way pot at least one opponent is likely to have a holding that works well with the board.

This is why the best starting hands in Omaha need to have cards which work together. For example 7-8-9-10 has the potential to make a lot of straights depending on the flop, while 3-4-9-10 can only make either the low or the mid-straight and may be vulnerable to higher straights in each case. Suited cards are also strong Omaha starting hands, these should preferably contain an ace of the same suit – giving you the potential to make the nut flush.

High-pair hands are valuable in Omaha, but are far superior when they contain other cards to work with. A holding of A-A-5-9 of 4 suits is really looking to flop an ace, any combination of flushes and straight draws on the board is likely to make continuing with the hand expensive. On the other hand A-A-10-J of 2 suits is a monster holding, not only do you have a strong pair, there are many flops which you could have a nut hand or strong draw to the nuts. A-A-J-10 where the A-J and A-10 combinations are suited is considered the strongest Omaha starting hand.

Starting hands in Omaha containing 2 pairs are also playable. You are looking to flop a set to continue in the hand and the chances of doing this with 2 pair are a little over 4/1. High pairs are again desirable, A-A-K-K (double suited) is another monster starting hand in Omaha poker. Beware of hands with small pairs, since you will face many combinations of hands at the table, bottom set might not be enough to win a showdown.

To summarize, the best Omaha starting hands are those in which the cards 'work together' to fit with many flops. Connected cards and suited cards are both desirable as are high-pair hands where the other cards compliment the pair. 2 pair hands are playable but largely dependant on the strength of the higher pair.

Best Starting Hands in Omaha Hi Lo

Omaha and Omaha Hi Lo is a much more complicated game then Hold’em simply because you have a wider range of starting hands seen by players due to the additional cards and combinations players can make. If you’ve never played Omaha and not quite sure what we’re referring to you can read our “How to Play Omaha Guide” which will help you with the basics of the game including format.

Since Omaha and Omaha Hi Lo use four hole cards, it’s absolutely critical that you understand the starting hand requirements in both versions. Making poor decisions on which hands to play and which hands to fold will ultimately cost you your bankroll. Although you’ll find plenty of beginners do end up falling for some of the more common omaha myths when choosing their starting hands.

5 Card Omaha Best Starting Hands Ever

Below you will find general outline to the starting hand requirements in Omaha Hi Lo. Omaha Hi Lo allows you to play for both the hi and low pot and because of this the starting hand requirements in Omaha 8 vary significantly from Omaha Hi since the goal is to be able to play for and win both pots. The starting hands below are dependent on situation, although you may not be able to bluff your way through this game, you can pick up a few additional big blinds through position and restricting your starting hands. Remember two things – the game is made up by strong hands and you need to play for both pots if you plan on coming out ahead.

Premium Starting Hands in Omaha High-Lo

The best starting hands in Omaha Hi Lo include:

1. A-A-2-x
2. A-A-3-x
3. A-2-3-x
4. A-2-4-x
5. A-2-x-x
6. A-3-4-x
7. A-A-x-x

While the chart above gives you a general outline of the best starting hands in Omaha Hi Lo, you do need to realize that it is still quite broad as the ‘x’ represents nearly any other card. A suited hand is significantly stronger than a non-suited hand even if they both fall in the same category. Suppose you have the option to play A-A-Q-K rainbow or A-A-2-K suited. The obvious choice of hand would be the later since your able to play for high and low, while giving you a chance at a flush, full house, or straight for hi hands. A tip to keep in mind when determining your hand strength in Omaha Hi Lo using the chart above is that the majority of cards 5 – 9 are essentially worthless. They can be used to pick up a few blinds when in position or playing against a loose table.

Ten of the Best Starting Hands in Omaha High-Low

These hands are considered the top hands in Omaha Hi Lo:

Best Hands In 5 Card Omaha

1. A-A-2-3 Double-suited
2. A-A-2-4 Double-suited
3. A-A-2-3 Suited
4. A-A-2-5 Double-suited
5. A-A-2-4 Suited
6. A-A-3-4 Double-suited
7. A-A-2-3 Non-suited
8. A-A-2-2 Double-suited
9. A-A-3-5 Double-suited
10. A-A-2-6 Double-suited

Playable Starting Hands in Omaha High-Low

Omaha Strategy Starting Hands

Below is a summary of hands that are playable starting hands in Omaha Hi Lo

5 Card Omaha Best Hands

A-A-2-x
A-A-3-x
A-A-4-5
A-2-3-x
A-2-K-K
A-2-Q-Q
A-2-J-J
A-3-4-5
A-A-x-x
A-2-K-Q
A-2-K-J
A-2-x-x (suited Ace)
A-3-K-K
A-3-4-x
2-3-4-5 (This hand is dependent on the Ace hitting the flop. If the flop doesn’t show an Ace you should fold)
J-Q-K-A
T-J-Q-K
K-K-Q-J
Q-J-T-9
2-3-4-x (Another hand that depends on the Ace. If no Ace hits the flop, fold the hand on first bet).