Omaha Hi
Lo: The importance of Ace Two
In Omaha Hi
Lo there are no two cards that are better
to have than A2 in terms of the low hand. If you
are going to have a chance at winning the low
hand it is important to have this hand. Still,
it is not the only hand that will be able to win
the low hand. For example, if A2 came up on the
board, 34 would be the best two cards to be
holding. Still, A2 (as long as they don’t hit
the board) are the best two cards to have as far
as low cards go. The problem however, comes in
when people get too obsessed over A2 – there are
a lot of things to keep in mind.
You will often see players go all
in with nothing except for an A2. Sometimes it
works out well for them because they are able to
win at least half of the pot with A2 for the low
hand. Of course, that hand is going to win the
low pot more times than any other hand. Still,
the best that could possibly happen is that you
will win just half of the pot. That is why you
have to ask yourself is it really worth going
all in with just an A2?
When A2 is Powerful
Ace Two is a very important part
of a strong Omaha Hi
Lo hand. The part of that last sentence that you
need to focus on is "part".
That means that while Ace Two is very valuable,
it is only part of a good hand. Just A2 alone
will not make a strong Omaha Hi/Lo hand. You
cannot look down at an A2610 off suit and think
you are good to go because you have that A2. It
just doesn’t work like that.
The cards you are going to play
have to work together. For example, if you have
A 2 8 9 and your A2 is suited, it is going to be
more valuable than if you have the same hand
unsuited. You just don’t want to go into a hand
relying on winning the low hand with your A2.
Think of having Ace Two as a bonus. You want to
look at the other things that make your hand
good first. From there, you will be able to look
at your A2 and see that not only do you have
cards that are suited and work together, but you
also have A2 which gives you a solid chance at
the low hand as well.
The basic point here is to not
put all of your eggs in one basket. Be sure that
you are not relying on only A2 to win a pot for
you. It just simply is not worth the hassle and
risk that you will be putting in. This is the
number one problem that so many Omaha Hi
Lo players have. It will not take you
long to realize exactly what is being talked
about here once you really start to pay
attention. |
