How to Play Double Hot and Cold Omaha Poker

PLAYING TIPS for DOUBLE HOT & COLD OMAHA POKER

HOW TO PLAY DOUBLE HOT & COLD OMAHA POKER:
Played exactly like Hot & Cold Omaha except there are two sets of board cards. Start by dealing 5 cards down to each player. Before any other action each player must discard one hole card face down in the middle of the table. These cards are shuffled or mixed together and used as described.

Two 5 card sets of board cards are arranged as follows:
Set #1: The 3 flop cards are drawn from the discarded cards. The turn and river cards are dealt from the remaining deck.
Set #2: The 3 flop cards are dealt from the remaining deck. The turn and river cards are drawn from the discarded cards.
Flop Turn River
Set #1 H H H C C
Set #2 C C C H H

Discarded cards are referred to as "hot" cards (H).
Cards dealt from the deck are referred to as "cold" cards (C).

Players may use either set of board cards to make their hand. Deal the flop, turn and river in each set at the same time. The single highest and single lowest hands split the pot.

SUMMARY of ACTION:
Deal 5 hole cards to each player.
Each player selects 1 card from their hand and discards it face down.
Gather and mix/shuffle all discarded cards.
Bet
Deal 3 cards from discards as Set #1 flop.
Deal 3 cards from deck as Set #2 flop.
Bet
Deal 1 card from deck as Set #1 turn.
Deal 1 card from discards as Set #2 turn.
Bet
Deal 1 card from deck as Set #1 river.
Deal 1 card from discards as Set #2 river.
Bet
High-low split: Declare
Bet
Showdown

PLAYING TIPS for DOUBLE HOT & COLD OMAHA POKER
Double Hot & Cold Omaha poker is a hybrid game. Each board consists of cards that have been selected by the players (we term these "hot" cards) as well as cards dealt from the remaining deck (we term these "cold" cards). Hot cards have been seen and selected so they are not random and possibly predictable. Cold cards are random and, therefore, not predictable. This feature results in a game where even the best pre-flop and post-flop decisions can be negated once the remaining cards are revealed. Cards coming from the discards are more likely to consist of cards players have judged to be least valuable and less likely to contain cards that are judged to be more valuable. Predicting what those hot cards might be is a useful skill. But it only goes so far, since each board will consist of both predictable and unpredictable cards.

The main considerations and decisions in Double Hot & Cold Omaha boil down to trying to strike a balance between these competing factors:
The card you discard pre-flop should be of minimal value to your opponents if it re-appears on the board.
The card you discard pre-flop should be of some value (or at least not hurt) to your hand if it re-appears.
The 4 cards you keep should be the ones that more likely connect with the cards your opponents are most likely to discard.

STARTING HAND SELECTION
In Omaha based games you want to start with cards that gives many possibilities for winning. Since each player starts with 5 cards and can select the most advantageous cards to keep you should expect that stronger and better coordinated starting hands are present. This is especially true for low hands and it is not uncommon for 1 or more players to be starting with the best low. More pairs are also in play. All in all, it is much more probable that players are able to combine elements of both strong starting low and high hands. With 4 hole cards, there are 6 couples of 2 cards available. The more the couples are coordinated, the better the starting hand. Strong starting holdings are those that have multiple chances of leading to a winning full house, flush, straight or the best low.

Trips as hole cards improve your chances of making a set or full house by discarding one of those cards with the hope it reappears in one of the boards. Be cautious with low sets or low full houses as they can be vulnerable and could cost you a lot of money before you find out if they are a winner or merely second best.

A high pair or two is a good start, provided they are also coordinated to other cards. (For example, A♣ A♦ 2♣ 3♦ or A♣ A♦ K♣ K♦). Out of your original 5 cards you will be dealt any 2 pair about 5% of the time and any one pair about 42%. Should you then flop a set you now have a good draw to a full house or better. Without additional coordination single pairs alone, even aces, (for example A♣ A♦ 7♠ 9♥) are not good starting hands.    Suited high connected cards are helpful for both straights and flushes.   Unsuited connectors are best if they are high cards or low cards; middling connectors tend to make mediocre straights and lows.   High suited cards, preferably an ace with a small card give both nut flush and low hand possibilities.   If you catch a flush that is not the nuts be careful.

A pocket pair of aces stands less of a chance of becoming trips than any other pocket pair. Other players are very unlikely to discard an ace, so it will hardly ever appear as a "hot" card. In all likelihood, only a "cold" card will make it happen, which cuts your chances of making a set of aces by half.

Starting hand recommendations for high-low split are provided in a later section.

PROBABILITIES FOR 5 CARD HIGH HANDS
Approximate probabilities of being dealt these HIGH hands as your 5 hole cards

5 Card Hand
3 of a Kind
2 Pairs
1 Pair

Probability/Odds
2.11% (46:1)
4.75% (20:1)
42.3% (1.4:1)

PREDICTING OTHERS' PLAY
While it is only partially helpful, it is still useful to think about what cards the other players will most likely keep and what cards will they most likely contribute to the board cards. The answers to the two questions are very important for they have influence on what you will do.

Unless they have given it some prior thought the average player is likely to view their hole cards the same way they do for Omaha. They will keep what they view as their 4 most favorable cards and discard what they think is the card that least coordinates with their other cards. If they do this, they will often not consider if the card they discard will be helpful to another player. That will often lead to mistakes. Cards that players will most likely keep are any ace, very low cards (if playing high-low split), very high cards, pairs, suited and unsuited connected cards. The cards they are most likely to discard are middle ranked cards and any other card that is not well coordinated with their other four.
Playing high only version is much simpler as players will keep their highest cards and discard lowest card unless it is paired or suited to an ace or king.
Here is a summary of what other players are likely to do with each card.

Ace - As both the highest and lowest card an ace is almost always kept. May consider discarding only if not paired, not suited, not connected with other high cards (KQJT), they have no low card, they hold 2 other pairs. Even in those circumstances discarding an ace will almost certainly help other players make a high hand but will ruin unprotected low hands like A2 and A3.
Broadway cards (Ten through King): Will typically be kept if suited, connected (including gapped) or paired. The higher the rank, the more likely it will be kept.
Medium ranked cards (9 through 6): Will often be discarded unless suited to ace or another high card, is paired or suited-connected. The lower the rank, the more likely it will be discarded.
Low ranked cards (5 through 2): Will discard unless suited to ace or another high card, paired or suited connected. The lower the rank, the more likely it will be discarded.

DETERMINING YOUR PLAY
Five of the cards that are discarded will come back into play. In an 8 handed game there is a 62.5% chance that the card a player discards will come into play. It is 71% for a 7 handed game. The first objective is that a player should try to keep cards that the other players are most likely to discard, especially pairs or the higher ranks of those cards. A second objective is to attempt to discard a card that will help his hand if it re-appears but be less likely to help an opponent. Granted, that is not always easy to do. There will often be contradictory pros and cons about what to keep and what to discard, but it is still the goal.

Of course, since the "cold" cards are dealt from the unseen deck those cards are entirely random. This gives players a chance at hitting the card(s) they need that are not likely to have been discarded. The combination of some predictability coupled with some randomness makes Double Hot & Cold Omaha an interesting and challenging game.

PLAYING HOT & COLD DOUBLE OMAHA AS HIGH-LOW SPLIT
Playing High-Low Split will result in players adding the very lowest combinations to their starting hands. A suited ace adds a possible nut flush draw and is a strong starting hand that has the potential of scooping the entire pot. Other players rarely discard aces so A2 is not likely to be counterfeited by the "hot" cards unless someone throws away a deuce. But there is no such protection with the "cold" cards.

Any hand that contains A2 is the best start and really the only one you want. It is much better to begin with the nut low than it is to start with a lesser low and hope the board fills it in to make the nuts. Whenever you hold an ace, you'd much prefer it to be suited to one of your other cards.

A "naked" A2 (A2XXX, where X = any card 4 to king) starts as the nut low. All it must do is avoid being counterfeited by the board. Other players rarely discard aces, so A2 is not likely to be harmed by a hot card unless someone throws away a deuce. There is no such protection with the cold cards. In an eight handed game if you are not dealt A2 there is a better than even chance someone else was.

A23XX is a much better starting low as it provides "insurance" in case an ace, deuce or trey appears on the board. Obviously, your move would be to discard one of the odd (X) cards, leaving you with A23X.

The absolutely perfect low starting hand is being dealt A234X (X = any card 5 to king). Pre-flop you would discard the odd (X) card, leaving you with A234. Start betting, because this is as much of a guaranteed winner you can get. Only if 3 of those four ranks show up in the board can it be ruined.
With any starting low card holdings other than A2 you need two things to happen to end up with the nut low. You must catch the exact card you need and you must also dodge being counterfeited by the board.

A3, the second best low, is only one board card from making the nut low and is usually a starting hand worth playing. There is a chance that a deuce may be discarded as a hot card. You may also catch a deuce from among the cold cards. It might win even without improvement, though it is extremely tough to play it that way. Unimproved, A3 is one of those classic hands that either wins a small pot or loses a big one. It also has about an equal chance of being counterfeited.

23 is also only a single card away from making the nut low. It needs to see an ace on the board to do so. Unfortunately, aces are rarely discarded, so 23 stands little chance to make the best low hand unless an ace appears from the cold cards. The same goes for any 2 cards that need both an ace and another card to make the nut low, like 24 or 34. A4 suited is worth playing primarily for the nut flush possibility, although there is some slim additional hope it might make the nut low.

LOW HAND PROBABILITIES
Approximate percent probabilities of being dealt the following LOW cards in 5 cards.

5 Card Low Hand
A2 XXX
A3 XXX or 23 XXX

A23 XX
A24 XX or A34 XX or 234 XX

A234 X
A235X or A245X or A345X or 2345X

Percent Probability/Odds
12% (7.5:1)
24% (3:1)

2.4% (40:1)
7.2% (13:1)

0.45% (221:1)
1.8% (55:1)