Bad Poker Starting Hands

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Q♠J♠, Q♠T♠, and J♠T♠ are the best bluff candidates (3 combos). These hands have no showdown value and block Villain’s strongest Ax hands (AQ, AJ, AT). Hero must then bluff with 4 or 5 more combinations of these missed flush draws for balance, which will complete his well-constructed overbetting range on the river. Jan 09, 2019 Bad starting hands in Texas Holdem poker: 2-7 offsuit – this is the worst starting hand you can receive in Texas Holdem poker. You have no chance to make even straight draw, so when you are dealt these two cards it is better to fold. 2-8 offsuit – this is also a very bad hand and when you receive it you should consider folding.

Omaha hi-lo can be a dizzying game if you are not used to it. With two opposing, possible winning options and trying to build a hand from four hole cards and five community cards, you have to keep your wits about you at all times.

Here we endeavour to make life that little bit easier, providing some helpful hints at what Omaha hi-lo hands are worth playing, and which hands are absolute poison that should be avoided like the plague. The greatest weapon in a game of poker is knowledge and once we’ve broken down what’s what you will confidently be able to traverse the seemingly daunting and sinister world that is Omaha hi-lo split.

The Best Hand

While every thoroughbred Omaha player may have their own personal favorite hand, A, A, 2, 3 (double suited), is the best hand to be armed with in Omaha hi-lo.

Now let us just have a look at what makes this such an effective hand, baring in mind that in Omaha hi-lo, each player must use exactly two of their hole cards and three community cards to construct either a winning hi hand or a winning lo hand, Aces are high and low, and a lo hand can only quality with an 8-7-6-5-4 or lower.

  • You are sporting a pair of Aces, which is primo no matter which poker derivative you are playing.
  • Double suited gives you two possible flush draws.
  • A-2 or 2-3 gives you two possible straight draws which can result in a hi win and a lo win.
  • Having the baby cards of A-2-3 has you in a very good position to also take the Lo pot.

Other strong hands

Generally speaking, Aces are premium, considering they are high and low and can help you win either side or both sides of a possible hi-lo pot.

Double suited low cards such as an Ace and Three of Hearts and a Deuce and Five of Clubs has you primed for two possible flush draws, a low straight flush, a low straight and a look at splitting the pot and taking the lo hand.

A combination of low cards and high cards can be advantageous too, because then you are covering both ends of the spectrum. A hand like A-K-4-2 with two of those cards suited would have you sitting pretty with a plethora of possible hands.

Bad Hands

Unsuited middle hands can be an absolute grenade in Omaha hi-lo. J,9,8,6 unsuited is a train wreck. Sure you might be able to struggle a straight out of it, but there is nothing really on here. No flush. No high pair. No real lo winning hand. You should fold mid-range hands like this with extreme prejudice.

As odd and unlikely as it might sound, having quads (four of a kind) is the worst possible hand in Omaha hi-lo (the lower the four same ranked cards the worse, with four Deuces being the absolute worst). The best you can do with four of a kind is create a pair, so it is impossible to make the hand low. It is also not possible to make three or four of a kind, you have no chance for a flush, and any player with any matching card to the board automatically makes a higher pair than you.

So as special as it may look to be clutching a quad, give it a miss, even four Aces. Also, four suited cards (each card with the same suit), makes it less likely to create a flush.

Obviously, notes pointed here are not written in stone. A win can sometimes be manufactured outside of the cards you are concealing from the rest of the table. Can you bluff you way to a win? Can you be bluffed out of a win? What are the community cards? Who are you playing against? These are just some of the things you must take into account when playing Omaha hi-lo split.

Where to play Omaha hi-lo split online

Omaha hi-lo is available to play at cash tables, sit ‘n go tables or in tournaments with the following trusted poker sites. Each site’s sign up or welcome bonus is included for your convenience.

  • 888Poker.com offers up to $888 in bonus cash when you register.
  • PokerStars.com offers up to $600 in matched deposit bonuses.
  • FullTilt.com offers up to $600 in matched deposit bonuses.


Every poker player who’s stuck around longer than that first game eventually experiences a downswing. It’s demoralising and frustrating, but it will invariably happen to all of us sooner or later, and typically more than once.

A downswing, or running bad, is all part of the game. The signs are clear: maybe your bluffs don’t work, playable hands become useless at the turn, or you're raised every time you bet - they are all probable outcomes during a game of poker, the negative side of the positive outcomes that keep us playing, game after game.

What’s important in these situations is to analyse whether you’re running bad, or playing bad, or if the downswing your experiencing is a bit of both.

Sometimes, and often for streaks at a time, the hands that you're dealt are less than desirable poker hands. This is an element of running bad, but it's all part of what you signed up for when you first took an interest in playing cards.

It turns into playing bad when you start making poor decisions, even when you’re experiencing this bad run of luck. Spending more than you can afford to lose? That’s playing bad. Not taking the opportunities to fold and observe when they’re handed to you? Again, playing bad. Heading into tilt is a dangerous territory to be in, and the only solution is to stop playing. You’re no longer able to be present in the games you play, so take a break and sort your mindset out. Poker’s not gonna go anywhere.

If, however, you haven’t quite reached that desperate stage, there are some things you can do to break your bad run.

Re-evaluate your strategy

Poker Starting Hands Chart

Whether running bad, or playing bad as a result of running bad, it really is beneficial to step back from active play to revisit your poker strategy. You wouldn’t be reading this article if you didn’t already know that a game of poker is far more than just a series of hands, and if your aim is to play to win then you’ll need to refine your strategy to be better than that of your opponents.

What’s the aim of your strategy? How does it take advantage of the mistakes your opponents are making? What are the current weaknesses in your strategy? Look at what you were doing before you started experiencing the bad run, whatever mistakes you were making then you now have the opportunity to fix them.

Be realistic

Bad

Bad Poker Starting Hands Guide

If you’re just starting out with this bad run then get some perspective. You’re on a downswing, so don’t delude yourself that you’re playing an exceptional game, blaming the luck of other players for your bad results. Yes, mathematically some players do seem to have more favourable opportunities than others, but that’s poker! It’s not as mathematic a game as craps or baccarat, but that’s also why we can play it at a professional level.

Running bad can make you a better player, if you’re the type that thrives on adversity, so sometimes you just have to suck it up and accept that it is all part of the game. If the grind becomes too much, revert back to taking a break, but when you do hit the tables again keep a laser focus on your edge - everbody’s got one.

Switch it up

Bad Poker Starting Hands Games

This is advice that can make you a better player overall, but it’s especially useful when trying to combat a downswing: start learning and playing a new game.


Bad Poker Starting Hands Svg

First of all, learning a new game provides a major distraction from the bad run you're experiencing, and it will help boost your brainpower too. We won’t go into great detail about the neuroplasticity of the brain here, there are plenty of other resources you can check out for that but very simply, learning new skills creates new pathways in the brain, making it smarter, sharper and more efficient. And who doesn’t want that for their brain?

Bad Poker Starting Hands Against

You don’t even need to play for real money thanks to the proliferation of apps and online platforms offering free games. Or, if you’re more old school then pick up a rule book and practice with your friends or colleagues. You may be a diehard Hold ‘em player, but playing variations like Pineapple OFC or Omaha will leave you with skills that you can transfer over to your main poker game.