Top 5 Reasons to Raise Pre-Flop in Omaha Hi-Lo

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How often do you see someone raise pre-flop in Omaha Hi-Lo? Many of you will probably say, not often. This is a common theme with many Omaha 8 or Better games, especially at lower stakes. That’s not the way you have to play it.

Today, we will give you reasons you should raise pre-flop in Omaha Hi-Lo. Consider these tips the next time you play and see if your results start improving.

To Build a Pot

The first and most obvious, reason to raise pre-flop in Omaha Hi-Lo is to try and build a pot. Omaha Hi-Lo is a game where you will see a lot of people call along pre-flop because they have a good shot at a scooping hand. Players with two-way hands will call along and those with strong one-way hands, such as all big cards, will also call.

If you have a hand with good odds for scooping, why not put in a raise and try and build the pot a little. The bigger the pot, the more money you can potentially win.

To Push Out Straggler Hands

Often, an Omaha Hi-Lo game becomes a limp-fest pre-flop, especially at low stakes cash games. Players will come in with all sorts of garbage hands for the price of a blind. However, they are less likely to call down two bets with junk hands, such as middling connectors or weak low hands.

These straggler hands are the types of hands you want to try and push out with a raise pre-flop. Give yourself a better shot at scooping the pot by getting them to fold. It also helps in a couple of other areas.

To Take Control of Betting

Like in Texas Hold’em, the player that raises pre-flop will often take control of the betting. If you raise pre-flop, action will generally be checked around to you. You can then opt to bet again or check behind. Of course, if you don’t continuation bet on the flop, you are telegraphing your hand a bit.

This hand gives you solid scoop potential. Why not raise it up?

Another way this helps you control betting is by seeing how others react on the flop. If you raise pre-flop and another player bets out before you on the flop, they likely have picked up something. They may not have a made hand, but they at least have a monster draw. This gives you information on their hand and where you stand

Building an Image

Like any other poker game, you want to build an image at the Omaha Hi-Lo tables. When you are raising pots pre-flop, you are working on that image. If you are raising a solid number of hands, you will probably be viewed more like a maniac or LAG player. However, if you are raising pre-flop and are only showing down monsters, players are going to get out of your way more often.

The image you want to portray will be based on the other players at the table. There are times where a LAG will be a very profitable style. Other times, you need to be the nittier player to take advantage of all the dead money on the table.

Increase the Action

Omaha Hi-Lo is generally an action game, but you will come across tables that want to play the game snugly. Often, these tables need a bit of a nudge to get the chips flowing. The best way to do this is to start raising some pots pre-flop.

After a bit, players will start getting tired of seeing you raise and will start playing back. It may cause some to loosen up and play more hands than they normally would. More action is great and makes for a better game. A little extra investment pre-flop will generally pay off.