Why and How

When playing Omaha Hi-Lo it is essential to try and scoop the pot in order to make a large profit. Here you can learn all you need to about scooping

Often when reading about Omaha Hi-Lo you will come across the term ‘scooping’ which refers to taking both high and low side of the pot at showdown. Read the following bullet points for an explanation why this is an essential strategy for split pot Omaha games and how to do it.

Why?

• In a heads-up pot the profit for winning the high or low side is money from players who have folded during the hand, it normally accounts for 10% – 20% of the pot size. After rake it is normal to take only 5% – 10%.
• Multi-way pots can make winning less worthwhile. It is essential to account for the risk of being quartered for the low pot. For example, in a game of three players each of whom contributed £10, winning half the pot will give you a profit of £5 each time. If you are quartered only 20% of the time you will lose lots of money. Four out of five times you will win £5 and make £10, however once you will lose £7.50 which means you average profit is just £2.50 on each hand!
• Only winning one side of the pot in Omaha Hi-Lo means your profits will be small.

How? – Before the Flop

• Make sure you choose to play starting hands that have the potential to scoop the whole pot.
• A high only hand can scoop the pot if there is no qualifying low hand. You can expect this to happen about 30% of the time so a high only hand should not be immediately discarded.
• The problem is that an inexperienced play will end up playing too many hands, therefore when playing a high only hand stick to the really strong hands and be ready to quickly fold if there are low hands possible on the flop.

How? – After the Flop

• In order to scoop you must be aware of the type of hands your opponents have after the flop. Then you must ensure that any draws you play are to the nuts.
• Suited aces with low cards are the best hands in Omaha 8 or better as when you hit it is probably that you are drawing to both sides of the pot.
• If you are drawing to two non-nut hands there is a high risk of losing both sides of the pot.
• If the flop gives you the nut high and then draw to a low you should play the hand very aggressively.
• Be careful if you flop, the nut low as your opponents may have the same cards.
• However, if you have high potential, e.g. the nut flush or a backup baby card then over time aggressive play should show a profit.