Making the next leap in poker!! guide 5.

[hazzer1993]

The Same, Yet Very Different

The average Omaha player is a poker player with basic knowledge of Texas Hold'em, who thinks Omaha is a four-card version of the other game. Nothing could be further from the truth - the games are very similar on a superficial level, but if you take a closer look you'll find two completely different entities.

But don't be discouraged: the leap from Hold'em to Omaha isn't necessarily that hard if you acknowledge the differences.

I'll be specifically contrasting Pot-Limit Omaha with No-Limit Hold'em in what follows, because these are the most popular forms nowadays of the two poker variants.

Both Hold'em and Omaha are community card games. In Hold'em each player gets two hole cards and in Omaha four, and these cards are combined with the five community cards on the board. In Omaha you have to use exactly two of your hole cards to make your hand, which, as you probably know, is not the case in Hold'em.

Starting Hands

A major difference between Omaha and Hold'em is that there are very few starting hands that are huge favorites against other starting hands in Omaha. If two players have reasonable hands, one is rarely more than a 60-40 favorite over the other. Compare this to Hold'em where a higher pocket pair is an 80-20 favorite over a lower one.



Know what you're doing at Omaha, or you'll be shown No Mercy.

This means that you can see more flops in Omaha than in Hold'em, at least if you know what you're doing. But as a novice you should probably play fewer hands - for the most part, only starting hands where all four cards are connected in some way. Then, when you've got more experience, widen the range of hands that you play.

A Game of Draws

Omaha is a drawing game. When playing Omaha you will often have to commit a large part of your chip stack without a made hand - because of the great odds you get on your draws. This rarely happens in Hold'em.

The most important thing to remember in Omaha is that you should always be drawing to the nuts. This can't be emphasized enough - don't put your money at risk if you don't have the nuts if you make your hand. It can prove to be very expensive. In Hold'em you are usually thrilled to make the jack-high flush on an unpaired board, but in Omaha this is a real trouble hand that should be discarded if any of your opponents shows strength.

Example

You hold As-7-9-7 and the flop comes A-T-8. You have a top pair with a straight draw, but you are drawing to the bottom end of the straight. The only card that will give you the nuts is a 6. The risk is that another player has something like K-Q-J-x or Q-J-9-x and will make a higher straight. OK, so you also have top pair, but that won't get you anywhere in Omaha.

Many players used to Hold'em tend to overplay their draws in Omaha. I am amazed how often players pay you off with a sucker straight against your nut straight or decide to draw to a flush on a paired board when you already have a full house. This is what makes the game of Omaha so wonderful. Just don't make the same mistakes yourself!



That's what I've been doing wrong at Omaha!

Position, Position, Position

Position is important in Hold'em, but even more so in Omaha. Sitting in late position is great because you get more information than your opponents, but in Pot-Limit Omaha you also get good control over the pot. If you make a bet in early position in Omaha you give a lot of ammunition to your opponents acting behind. The pot-limit structure makes it possible for them to come over the top of you for a large amount.

For this reason you should never raise pre-flop in early position. You commit money to the pot, but have no control over the betting on the later streets. Say you have A-A-x-x and raise it up under the gun. What do you do when you fail to improve your hand and have three players acting behind?

The same goes if you flop a decent hand in early position, say a middle set. If you bet out here and someone comes over the top, you are forced to play a very big pot if you decide to continue.

You have a lot better control over the pot in late position. If somebody bets into you, you can choose to call with decent draws and come over the top with strong hands that you want to protect. So be careful and never raise pre-flop in early position (the only exception is when you can get a check-raise in for over half your stack with aces).

Larger Swings

Be prepared to have bigger swings when you play Omaha - and to play larger pots in general. It is not uncommon that both you and your opponent have the correct odds to commit all your chips and let the cards in the deck decide the outcome. In Omaha you will risk your entire stack more frequently than when you play Hold'em.



Man... these swings are brutal.

Example

You hold K-K-J-9 on the button. The flop comes K-J-8. You have flopped the nuts! Better yet, your opponent makes a pot-sized bet into you. But this is a dangerous board, so you decide to come over the top. He re-raises you all-in and you call. Your opponent holds Q-T-9-8, and has a very strong wrap straight draw.

This is virtually a coin flip, with your opponent as a slight favorite. There is no way that either one of you could get away from this hand - you both have to risk your whole stack on a coin flip. With this flop you are a favorite against all hands except wrap straight draws and your opponent is a favorite against most hands except sets.

Situations like this are a lot more common in Omaha than in Hold'em. That's one reason why Omaha is such an action game, but by the same token, it can also give you gray hairs.

Omaha and Hold'em might look very similar, but as you can see there are some major differences between these two exciting games. If you educate yourself about them and adjust your Omaha play accordingly, your chances of making some serious money at the poker table will skyrocket.

[MRCOOL1]

xcellent guide hazzer, thanks. Ive been playing omaha at a home game now for a couple of years, and im still getting used to it. can be very trickey, specially for those used to hold'em. as you said, on the SURFACE very simliar, but really a completely different beast.

[DukeOfDeath]

Wow this is a nice overview. How did we lose that guy? This severely needs a bump. And maybe a link over to the since created Omaha corner.

[OP66fozzy]

Originally Posted by DukeOfDeath

Wow this is a nice overview. How did we lose that guy? This severely needs a bump. And maybe a link over to the since created Omaha corner.

I'm pleased to see you are impressed with the article he decided to rip from a poker strategy internet site. The way he has used copy and paste for the entire article is most skillful

[notnutz]

Originally Posted by OP66fozzy

I'm pleased to see you are impressed with the article he decided to rip from a poker strategy internet site. The way he has used copy and paste for the entire article is most skillful

seemed to b too good to b that of a normal person now if ur a real poker strategist i could see this kind of in depth look but still a very good post for being copy and paste

[DreamALot]

Originally Posted by notnutz

seemed to b too good to b that of a normal person now if ur a real poker strategist i could see this kind of in depth look but still a very good post for being copy and paste

I to have no problem if it was plagiarized. I just did that using Word and doing spell check for that word I didn't know how to spell it so I cut and pasted.

To the point, good information regardless of who initially typed it, just glad someone posted it to read.

[DukeOfDeath]

yeah I wanted to ask "where's your source?", but didn't want to come across as rude.

[OP66fozzy]

So I came across as rude ?

Must try harder to be polite

[DukeOfDeath]

Originally Posted by OP66fozzy

So I came across as rude ?

Must try harder to be polite

Naw... it wasn't too rude. Maybe I wasn't avoiding rudeness. Maybe I was avoiding googling to check his originality.

[pokerpus]

howdy hazzer
i saw ur post on Omaha.... , i even read some of it
i'll read the rest of it here in a second and see what photo you get for your views...
i liked how ya started by saying many omaha players are playing from a hold-em view point.
i phrased it better,, but i agree
i love my omaha hi/lo !!!
i'm at the $1.oo and $2.oo tourny here almost every night,,,i've have never seen you in one ?
where ya hideing ? message me to play some tourneys...
im do some rings too , in the tournys and rings there's a few players always around,,
alot of people throwing chips around blinfolded and typeing with there toes,,
but there are many A' good omaha player in the tournys too
pokerpus,,he's crazy good,mental giant.
eirkur,, P8 is his avitar,not from op66,,he's good too
i'll go read the rest of ur post now......

i know nothing ......
i read the rest now.. i'll be hanging out aroung the 1-2 ,,2-4 cent rings,,look for me..i think no omaha hi/lo tournys till tommorow night ,,tell me if ya know of any
and an easy way to remember basic omaha rules is ::: you must use two down cards and only use two,,,flushes get new people alot,,,, and the photo is me no speaking hearing or talking,,,yes i can see the idiocicy of typing this as i talk listen and speak,,just go play some poker.....

[stjimmy]

He's banned pus.

[BBOB]

I lost my a*** last nite playing PLO lol. I mean lost it bad jeez lucky i still got my accent hehe.