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In heads-up limit Omaha 8, should I raise a bare A-2 with two middling cards (A-2-9-J) on the button?
Heads-up, PokerToast's limit Omaha 8 solver raises with A-2-9-J rainbow on the button 98% of the time.
The spot
- Game: heads-up limit Omaha 8, Before the flop.
- You: A♠ 2♦ 9♣ J♥ (your hole cards): A-2-9-J of four suits: the two best low cards with two middling cards that add almost nothing.
- Your opponent: is in the big blind and has not acted.
- Pot before this street: 1.5 small bets.
- Pot size and the numbers: the solver groups pots by size: its numbers here are averages over every pot of up to 2.5 small bets at this point, so in exactly this pot they would be a little different.
The solver's numbers
| Play | How often (strategy) | Worth from here on (EV estimate, small bets) |
|---|---|---|
| Raise | 97.7% | +0.70 |
| Limp (call) | 2.3% | +0.55 |
| Fold | 0.0% | +0.00 |
Measured on 548 play-outs of this situation. The highlighted row is the play that measured best.
Why, in plain words
Raise and limp (call) are worth about the same here (0.15 small bets apart, within the measuring noise of about 0.38), so neither is a real mistake; the solver's usual choice is to raise (98%).
What popular strategy articles say
A bare A-2 is overvalued; do not enter the pot with A-2 and two middling cards, the other two cards must be able to contribute to a winning hand.
What strategy articles found by web search said on 2026-10-08 (PokerNews, Card Player, PokerStrategy, pokerskill and similar; mostly written between about 2007 and 2015, and mostly for full-ring games with several players in the pot).
Heads-up, the solver disagrees: it practically never chooses the recommended play (fold); its main play is raise (98%).
Measured value from here on: raise +0.70 small bets, fold 0 (folding).
Heads-up vs multiway
The numbers above are for heads-up play (two players). Most published advice is written for full-ring games with several players in the pot, so part of any difference can come from that.
How these numbers were made
From PokerToast's own heads-up limit Omaha 8 solver, trained 19,095,762 iterations, exported 2026-10-05 18:07:15, 93,573 situations (version Y-19095762-20261005180715). It learned by self-play (Monte Carlo counterfactual regret minimization) for limit betting, at most four bets a street.
- How often is the solver's average strategy for this situation.
- Worth (EV) is an estimate measured after training by playing the situation out many times against the solver's own strategy: small bets won or lost from this decision on, compared with folding (0). It assumes an opponent who plays like the solver.
- Hand groups: the solver groups similar hands, so the numbers are for the group (here:
0|B|A2-2-rb|S|), not only these exact cards. Before the flop it groups your four cards by their low cards (A-2, A-3, other aces, 2-3), how many low cards you hold, suits (including a suited ace), pairs and high cards. After the flop it groups by your high hand and low hand on that board, the board itself, the pot and the betting so far on this street. - Looked up when this page was built (2026-10-19); a newly trained solver changes the page and its version number.
Practice it
Your equity with these cards Today's Omaha 8 Daily Spot Open PokerToast
Part of: Heads-up limit Omaha 8: starting hands and the first flop decision
More Omaha 8 spots: Heads-up limit Omaha 8: which hands does the button raise or fold? · Heads-up limit Omaha 8: A-A-2-3 on the button · Heads-up limit Omaha 8: A-A-K-Q (high only) on the button. Raise or limp? · Heads-up limit Omaha 8: an overpair with no low on a 7-5-2 flop. Bet or check? · Heads-up limit Omaha 8: big blind defense against a button raise