More and more Texas Hold Em players are venturing out to other games, and one
of the more popular games players are making a move to is Pot Limit Omaha. Players
often have misconceptions about Omaha because they are coming from Texas Hold
Em. There are a lot of differences in the games, but here are some to be most
aware of.
High Pairs Are Not Monsters
By Themselves!
In Texas Hold Em, pocket Aces
are the ultimate hand to have
before the flop, however the
same is not true for PLO. A
high pair that does not improve
is not likely to win in PLO,
and you will see many new players
over-playing their AA-xx hands.
One of the most valuable skills
in Omaha is discipline, and
learning to toss those high
pairs is a good discipline to
have.
Unless you are short stacked
and are able to get most of
your money in before the flop
with your big pair you need
to be very cautious. You really
want to have something else
going on in your hand besides
the big pair. Being double suited,
or playing the big pair along
with some suited connectors
gives them much more value.
Combination Hands
Players who are used to playing
Hold Em often undervalue the
stronger hands and overvalue
the weaker hands in Omaha. When
you have a great combo hand
like 5s-6h-7s-8h you have an
incredible drawing hand that
is just about 50/50 pre-flop
against someone who is holding
pocket Aces with rags.
You need to be aware of your
outs in Omaha. With four cards
and the ability to make 6 different
2 card hand combinations, you
want to have as many possibilities
as you can to make a hand. The
more options you have, the better
off you are.
There Are No Big Favorites
Before The Flop!
Something you want to be aware
of in Omaha that is very important
is that there will never be
a huge favorite before the flop.
The best you can ever really
hope to be before the flop is
about a 60-65% favorite, and
usually your edge will be less
than 5%.
This combined with the betting
being limited to the size of
the pot makes Omaha a game that
needs to be played strongly
after the flop. You need to
understand implied odds because
the sizes of the bets are going
to increase as the hand progresses.
Made Hands vs Draws
When playing Hold Em, a made
hand on the flop is a very big
favorite over a big draw. In
Omaha, a draw may have as much
as a 3-4:1 advantage over a
made hand up until facing a
hand stronger than a set. A
hand with a flush and straight
draw on the flop that is up
against pocket Aces with rages
is going to be a 70/30 favorite
to win. If the player hits trip
Aces, the player with the draw
is STILL a 55/45 favorite to
win the hand at showdown. Remember
you are facing a lot more draws
in Omaha, and your big hands
are not as strong.
Position In PLO vs Omaha
Every advantage that you have
with having good position in
Texas Hold Em is greatly increased
when playing PLO. One reason
for this is it is much tougher
to bet opponents off of a hand
because of all the inherent
draws someone may have. You
will not be getting people off
of their hand, so you better
be able to see what they do
before you act.
The other reason goes back to
playing a draw versus a made
hand. In PLO when you make you
hand on the flop in position
and are faced with a bet, you
can call knowing that on the
turn you will get the information
you need to figure out where
you are at in the hand. When
your safety card hits the turn,
you can become the aggressor.
When you are in position and
have a draw, you can make the
choice for a freebie card or
to semi-bluff and play your
draw hard. How you play it depends
on the opponents and the situation. |
