Playing Tips for High-Low Split

High-low split games can be problematic. Most of the time you are competing for just half the pot, so your pot odds for drawing are often poor. Additionally, players tend to play quite a bit more loosely, so you usually have more competition. To help counter this, you need to play starting hands that have multiple ways to develop into winning hands. You can get more insight to high-low split in general and the mainstream high-low games like Omaha-8 in many books. The poker hand analyzer will calculate the odds of winning or losing any poker hand and is an especially valuable tool in improving your high-low split play.

What is the Low Hand?

It is absolutely essential to know exactly what the best low hand is, but in a home game different people may approach it in different ways. Most commonly, 5432A is the best, which does not disqualify straights and flushes for the low and allows an ace to be used either high or low. Another alternative is 6432A. This also uses the ace for either high or low, but straights and flushes do disqualify the low. Much less common is 75432 which also does not allow straights and flushes to be used low and counts the ace as a high card only.

Declaration or Cards Speak?

The next consideration involves how a player’s hand is designated as either high or low, or both. In a cards speak situation the players simply show their hands. The best high and low hands are determined by looking at the hands and the pot is split accordingly. This is a simple method and eliminates some of the need to read the other players hands. If a declaration is used, each player must declare if their hand is high, low or both. This puts a premium on your ability to determine (or guess) which way the other players are going. In a declaration game the ability to make these reads can win you additional pots

Start Low
	Ideally, you want a starting hand that has a good chance to win either high or low (or both). Ironically, the best way to have a chance of winning both high and low is to start with low cards. Even if a good low hand does not develop for you the hand may turn into a straight or flush that can win high. If you start with high cards only, they can never turn into a low hand.

Risk Does Not Always Equal Reward

Having both the winning high and low hand (called scooping the pot) occurs infrequently, especially in a game that requires a declaration. That means the pot is split the vast majority of the time. If there are other players going in the same direction as you, this becomes a very important factor in determining if you should bet and raise or simply check and call. If there is more competition in your direction than in the other you will not win as much as you risk. Here is an example: One player has declared high. You and 2 other players have declared low. If you bet and all the others call, the pot will increase by 4 bets. If you win, you will get back 2 of those bets (the other 2 goes to the high hand). You had one chance in 3 of winning, but were only paid off at even money. Unless you have a hand that you are confident will win, you should not bet or raise in this situation.

On the other hand, when there is less competition for your direction than the other direction it is to your advantage. For example: You and one other declare low. 3 other players declare high. A bet that is called by all adds 5 bets to the pot. While you have an even money (1:1) chance of winning, should you do so you will win 2.5 bets which is a 1.5:1 payoff.

When you are the only player to declare in a direction you are an automatic winner (make sure your hand qualifies!). If the rules of your game do not prohibit you from raising in such a situation, you should bet and raise at every opportunity, since it increases your profit at no risk.

Watch Out for Ties

Ties for low are not uncommon. You need to be alert for circumstances that may tip you off to the probability that you and another player(s) have the same hand. When you are playing under declaration rules, you will typically win very little when you tie and can even end up losing money. It is usually foolish to bet and raise if you strongly suspect a tie. With cards speak a tie is not bad if you can also win high. If not, you are in no better situation than with declaration rules

There are occasions where a tie is a virtual certainty, so you must be aware of them. For example, in Omaha 8 or better if the board shows something like 5432 you can be confident of two things: if you don’t have the nut low you’re going to lose and if you do have the nut low you are going to tie. With such a board 4 hands (A2, A3, A4, A5) make the best low. And, while you also would have a straight for high, you’d be beaten by 5 other straights (62, 63, 64, 65, 67).

Qualifying for Low

When you are playing poker games that require a certain minimum for the low hand like Omaha 8 or better or 7 card stud 8 or better you cannot rely solely on low cards. You also need options for winning high just in case you don’t make a low hand that qualifies. If all you have is a potential low hand it can cost you a lot of bets while you wait and hope a qualifying hand materializes. It may not, and, to boot, you are competing for only half the pot. Incidentally, sometimes players forget they need a qualifying low, so make sure that low hands are always shown and actually do qualify. When there is no qualifying low hand the whole pot is awarded to the high hand.