Omaha Strategy

[najdoyza]

I like playing Omaha, but I have found that a lot of people chase - especiallly in Hi/Lo. Also since it's usually a limit game, many players start out raising everything! So how do you know a good hand from a not so good one pre-flop.

[PokerPrincess]

Okay that is a bit of a loaded question because Omaha is so totally different from Hold'em. Most Hold'em players who haven't learned the ins and outs of Omaha will usually have a pair of Aces or Paint in their hand preflop and they will raise big time. But in Omaha if you aren't shooting for a str8 or a flush then never raise big preflop.

The best starting hands for Omaha in my opinion are AK AQ AJ A10 suited or of course AA, KK, QQ, JJ but these are not hands to raise big time on because don't forget you are looking at only 2 from your hand and 3 from the board. So let's say you have AA and the flop is 789, 245, 910J, or even 810J where do you think your pp A, pp K, pp Q is going to get you.

Remember we are talking Omaha. But the same thing goes for Omaha Hi/Lo. You have to watch what you have in your hands and what hits the board.
In Hi/Lo though your starting cards are a little different. Your best starting cards are AK with a 2/3 or QJ and at least 2 of the cards, preferably A2 or KQ are suited.

But the best advice I can give you is to watch the board. Is there a pair on the board? Is there a potential str8 or flush. That pair on the board could give someone a fullhouse... So not only do you have to read the players you also have to read the board very closely.

I hope that gives you a little insight into Omaha.

[pokergal]

This is awesome. I love omaha but I am a terrible player at times. I get the general concept but strategies I am still working on. I am going to have to remember this.

[The Professor]

Thats good advice above.

I think the main reason you see the chasing is for the simple reason that people don't understand the strategies behind omaha as much and you get alot of bad players who just play the game like Holdem.

I don't play alot of Omaha myself, but some of the online pro's I speak to say that Omaha is a very profitable game if you really know what your doing and understand the strategies behind the game.

[Sweetness]

I actually started out HATING OMAHA of any kind but the strangest thing was that I had a natural knack for it and I was at one time winning more Omaha games than NLH games. Very strange as far as I'm concerned.

The advice given above is very good advice and if you follow it you should also be able to attain a good relaxed feeling when playing Omaha.

You will be able to pick out the NLH players who are just putting their toes in to get wet very quickly. Those are the people you want at your table and want to see them betting each hand they have ppK or ppA cause that's where your money will come from.

[najdoyza]

I just started out confused...lol But the more I played the more I found I kinda liked it I just needed more info to know when to chase and when not to. I prefer straight Omaha as opposed to Hi/Lo but I think that might be because I see more chasers in Hi/Lo - they seem to think that they have so much more chancce nd so many get lucky that they just keep diong it.

[flopmistress]

I play a lot of hi-lo and I think it's more of a skill game than any other. But it does require knowing what to play. I see more flops and if nothing hits then you fold if there are bets and calls. One of the most common mistakes new players make is that they forget the two in hand rule.

[RiverQueen]

Very good advice given PokerPrincess, and yes the chasers in Hi/Lo are definitely there. However, if you play the right hands they can chase all they want and never win.

I find the best hands to play have AK23 or AQ23 or AK34 or strangely enough a hand with 78910 or 67910 can be a good starting hand if you notice the board is laying out a lot of midrange cards. You still have a chance at the low (however, unlikely) but you have a great chance at the high with a str8 or even a fullhouse. For instance if in the case of 78910 the flop is 6910, you have the str8 already but if the turn is a 9 and the river is a 7 you have a fullhouse. This quite often happens. So you see that having a ppA isn't the best way to go because you need 1 of each card on the table i.e. a 7 or a 9 to have a chance at the fullhouse and in the meantime you have two pair against the ppAce.

[najdoyza]

Yeah I heard that connected middle cards are a good bet to at least see a flop woth because you have such good odds on pulling straights. But yiu have to watch out for flushes and other hands so I guess you just have to pay more attention in this game than in others.

[aces_up]

A lot of players when they first start playing Omaha tend to think that they have better odds because they have more cards in their hand. They forget that so does everyone else. So they chase marginal hands. Eventually they learn better. I find that I prefer snall private games as the caliber of players tends to be better.