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Omaha Strategy |
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Texas Hold'em might the
game at the centre of the online explosion
in poker but Omaha is free rolling along
for the ride. It's the natural game for
Hold'em players to progress to and its
popularity is also booming.
The main structural differences between
the two forms of poker are that Omaha
players are dealt more cards and need the
nuts more often to win a hand. It's a true
action game with larger pots. |
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| Of course,
with these contrasts in the game's basics
come important strategy variations to become
a winning player. In this issue we'll be
looking at the central tactical differences
between playing the two games. |
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Bankroll
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| Ok, you got us.
Strictly speaking it's not a variation in
playing strategy but is nevertheless an
important consideration for anyone sitting
down at an Omaha table. Omaha is an action
game. It attracts action players and that
means bankroll swings are more frequent and
volatile than in Hold'em. Many players
increase their bankroll size in relation to
the big blind bet size to cover this
additional volatility. |
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Slow playing is almost always incorrect
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| Playing a strong
hand weakly in order to make more money from
later betting rounds is a dangerous game in
Omaha . Remember with four cards each your
opponents effectively have six hands. Give
them a free card and they may make a hand
that beats yours.
It follows that check raising in Omaha is
less effective than in Hold'em, especially
limit Omaha . A powerful tactic in Hold'em
it's usually a better strategy in Omaha to
take advantage of any value your hand has
immediately and make potential drawing hands
pay.
So revealing the strength of your hand in
Omaha is not as damaging as in Hold'em .
The reason is Omaha is a game of nuts. It's
no secret to the other players that you have
the nuts or are drawing to them so get your
money in the pot! |
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| Bluffing
is a smaller part of the game |
In Hold'em it's often
said you play your opponent as much as the
cards. Bluffing is an essential skill
every winning player has. In Omaha a
player betting as a bluff, as opposed to
raising as a bluff, is much more likely to
get called as opponents have more hand
possibilities to call them with
That said genuine bluffing
opportunities do occasionally present
themselves in Omaha . If you've a
relatively tight table image they can be
most profitable plays.
If you do ever manage to pull a bluff
off never show your opponents. It's hard
enough to bluff successfully in Omaha . If
your opponents know you're willing to try
it on they're even more likely to call you
next time. |
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Seat selection is less important
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| In earlier issues
we saw how the estate agent's mantra of
location location location transferred to
Hold'em as position position position –
particularly position in relation to the
button and other players. Basically in Hold'em it's
important to sit to the right of aggressive
players and on the right of passive players.
In Omaha it's still worth considering but
isn't as important because it's harder to
make a move on the pot with so many people
still in it with so many drawing hands.
Usually in Omaha the correct play is simply
the straightforward one, not a steal
attempt. |
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| Suited aces
are more powerful than unsuited aces |
| Of course this
is true in both Omaha and Hold'em – but
more so in Omaha . In Hold'em A 9 off suit
could win a hand with top pair. But in Omaha
it won't and players want all their cards to
work together if they are going to be a
consistent winner. A suited ace gives the
nut flush draw.
It's worth pointing out too that in
Hold'em an unsuited Ace with a low card is a
trap hand. But when playing Omaha High Low
the same combination can obviously give the
nut low. |
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