A Beginners Guide to Omaha.

5starpool

Ok, here is an attempt at a beginners guide to Omaha. I am largely assuming that readers of this have a basic at least understanding of Holdem. If anyone feels inclined to do one for other non holdem forms of poker such as Stud (7 card or 5 card), Omaha 8/b, Stud 8/b, Razz, duece to 7 lowball etc then that would be great, and I would include them here. They also do not need to be expert guides, more an explanation of the game and good starting hands and any other important tips. Equally if anyone spots any flaws in this let me know (but there shouldn't be any). This is not a representation of how I play, but more of an overview of the game.

Ok, Omaha, or Pot Limit Omaha (PLO). This is the second most popular format of poker in Ireland (and probably online as well) behind holdem. It is similiar in many respects. The blinds, button and preflop action happens in the same format, except the betting is Pot Limit, not No Limit. I will try to explain Pot Limit further on in this post. After the initial betting the rest of the game is the same. Burn and flop 3 cards. Bet. Burn and turn. Bet. Burn and river. Bet. Showdown. The main difference in this game is that initially you are dealt four cards instead of two. Nice one you say, but it isn't quite that simple. While you still have to make the best 5 card hand from your hole and board cards, you must use exactly two hole cards and 3 community cards in this game. Some examples of this is.

Your Hand: AdQhThTd
The Board: TcQc6h5h9s

You do not have a house in the hand above as you can only use two cards from your hand. Your best hand is TTTQ9m and there is a good chance you are not ahead in a multiway pot.

Your Hand: AdKhJh9c
The Board: Qd8d6d5h2d

You do not have a flush in this hand. In fact you have only Ace high. Your best hand is AKQ86. However you may well end up winning the hand by virtue of having the Ad in your hand. More of that later.

Omaha is a game of much bigger hands than holdem. If the board pairs, someone likely has a house. If the board come with 3 of a suit, someone likely has a flush. If there is a straight out there, someone likely has it. Omaha is a game of different skills to Holdem in many ways, and when you start out, the best way to play it is to only draw to the nuts (not just important for beginners of course).

Preflop selection is really important here. Big pairs are less advantageous than in Holdem, and rundown cards (789T for example) are good starting hands as well. Ideally you want to be in a pot with coordinated hands. This means a double suited big pair hand, or a rundown hand, preferably double suited at well. The two best starting hands in this game are generally acknowledged to be AAKK doublesuited and AAJT double suited. However, AAKKds is not that big a favourite over 789T double suited (even with the same suits although it is better for the big hand), so getting all your money in preflop with junk AA such as AcAd8s3h is not a great idea in a multiway pot as your edge over a lot of hands is not too big. Headsup though, AAxx is a decent (60/40 or so) favourite over most hands, especially KKxx or QQxx. There are far more multiway pots in Omaha, and that is why you generally see bigger pots in this game on average. There are a lot of hands in Omaha that boil down to a made hand vs a big draw. A lot of this game is down to maths, outs, and putting your opponents on hands, and more specifically than holdem. Of course this is easier the better you know your opponents,a nd is not always possible with unknowns.

Good starting hands:
AAxx, especially double suited.
KKxx or QQxx, especially double suited. Does not perform well though against AAxx, so use with caution.
Rundown hands, such as KTJT, 89TJ, 5678 and so on, and double suited especially this is a very good hand. If you are shortstacked in a game and you get a chance to get your chips in preflop in a multiway hand, you will likely be getting good equity on your hand.
Gapped Suited connectors such as QT87. You are missing a couple of key cards so should be payed with caution, but if you can see a cheap flop in position then it can be a good hand.

If you have a hand such as QJT3 rainbow though, you should throw this away unless you are in the BB in an unraised pot as the dangler in your hand handicaps you big time here. Equally K567 suffers from a high dangler, so is garbage now. Small pair hands are very vulnerable also, so hands such as 4456 should be folded until such time as you are comfortable with the post flop dynamics of this game.

Junk hands:
3 of a kind in your hand such as TTT9. Automuck.
Gapped rainbow hands such as K962 rainbow.
Danglers with low pairs such as 2239. Terrible.
4 to a suit such as KT98 all hearts. If coordinated can be worth taking a cheap flop in position if possible.
4 of a kind such as 2222. This is the worst hand in the game. I have never, in 4 years playing live or 10k odd hands online been dealt this though, so very rare.

Post flop:
Post flop play in Omaha is very different to Holdem. If you hold AAJTds in a 4 way pot, and the flop comes down 568 with 2 cards to a different suit you don't have, then you should not be betting as you are behind or a dog 90% of the time at least. However if you have AhKsQhTs and the flop is Jh9h6s, you have a huge hand here in the nut flush draw and big wrap, so any heart (except the 6h) or any K, Q, T or 8 gives you the nuts so that is 18 outs. You would be happy to get all your chips in here if possible, even if against JJxx as all your outs are to the nuts in this spot. This type of situation, top set against big draw is a typical Omaha situation. Beware wary of draws though, as if you are drawing to non nut outs such as 5s6h7s8h on the above flop of Jh9h6s against the hand above, you are in terrible shape though against a hand such as KhQhTs8s as most of your outs are dominated.

Preflop aggression in Omaha is less important in my opinion than in Holdem, as in a 3 way pot it is less likely that flops will be poor for both, especially against an aggressive opponent. Position is equally, if not more important though in Omaha than in Holdem due to the draw heavy nature of this game. If you are starting out in Omaha, be cautious to start, learn what hands play well headsup and multiway, and learn how to interpret opponents actions postflop based on the texture of the board.

Bluffing in Omaha:
Bluffing in Omaha is less common than in holdem, although it cetainly does occur. Usually though one of a few certain conditions will be present. If you have the A of a suit which there are 3 on the board, but no other card suited to it, then the 'Lone Ranger' move is possible as you know noone else has the nuts (barring any possible straight flush). Another situation is betting the blockers. This means that you have a pair (or possibly 3 of a kind) that is needed to have a straight, but you don't have another card needed to make the straight. This is a more dangerous move than the lone A move though as while it means it is less likely that someone has the nuts, it is still possible. This should not be tried on draw heavy boards though. Bluffing is a very dangerous occupation in Omaha and you should target your opponents very carefully. Some people cannot be bluffed off a weaker flush or straight, or even a set. Also, if you are known to bluff in this fashion a lot you will get called far more than you would like. You should also pay attention to stack sizes before trying this as bluffing into a dry or small sidepot, or into a shortstack who is getting big odds to call is pointless.

Pot Limit:
Pot limit betting means, obviously, that you can only bet what is in the pot. However, it may not be transparent at first that this is the case. The easiest way to work this out is that you can only bet what is in the centre if first to act post flop, or if there is a bet before you (pre or post flop) you can bet 3x the last bet, plus the rest of the money already bet. The easiest way to 'get' this if you are confused is to borrow ther tv phrase 'call and raise' (although you should never use that phrase as a call is all you can do there). If there is €20 in the centre and someone before you has bet €20 but you wat to raise, then the pot is €40, right? Wrong. If you want to raise the maximum amount is €80 (3x20 + 20). Using the 'call and raise' thing in your head you can see why. If you were to call 20 then raise the pot, there would be 60 in there after your raise, thus the max raise is to €80 total. This is how I thought about it at first, but all you need to know who to work it out is 3 x the last bet, plus the rest. Another couple of examples.

Preflop: 1/2 blinds. Two limpers, a pot raise to 11, a caller and you want to raise. The max amount is 51 in this case ((3 x 11) + 11 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1). If you are playing live in Ireland though, it may be rounded to '50 for cash'.
Postflop: 45 in the centre. Someone bets pot, there is a caller and you want to raise. Youy can make it a max of 225 ((3 x 45) + 45 + 45).

If you can't work it out though, or can't be bothered there are 2 very handy functions. Online it is automated of course and you cannot bet more than the pot. Use the slider to adjust the amount accordingly. Live there are dealers. They will always tell you the pot in a Pot Limit game if you ask it. Be careful of phrasing though, as saying 'pot' obliges you to bet the full pot amount (or go all in if you can't cover the bet). If you want to know, then just ask, 'how much is in the centre' or similar. In a lot of situations you should bet the full pot when you are betting. This will charge the maximum price for people to chase draws, usually at incorrect odds, or can build a pot for when you have a monster draw. there are times though when you want to give people a decent price to draw to their hand, such as when you have such a strong hand you don't care who is in the hand. Be careful though as with all games that your betting patterns don't expose your game too much.

I hope this is a help to those starting out. I'm sure some more experienced players will read to try and nitpick (I know I would) but there won't be much to help players already familiar with the game.

eoghan104

Nice post Dom well done.

DeadParrot

+1 Nice Post

Lafortezza

Other good starting hands are double pairs especially if they are suited and/or connected. QQ44 no suits is ok but not great, but something like 99TT double suited is a monster.
A+3cards to a run is also good especially when the Ace is suited, so Ah6h7x8x is an easy raise pf first in.
You should fold lot in the blinds with marginal hands, Ks4sJx9x might look like it has potential when considering calling a small pf raise from the SB, but it's a bag of bollix. You will be OOP with a mediocre hand, probably with 2 pair or a weak draw, basically you will be entering a world of hurt Donny.

You should be very aggro on button and Cutoff, position is everything and C-bets work very well post flop to take the pot from 1 caller in the blinds.
Most of the winners in my Stars DB (6max .5/1 PL) have a VPIP of 25-40, and most are v aggro in position. PT and PAHUD are very handy for deciding if someone is a fish or a lagtard or good.

5starpool

I meant to put in the double pair hands, but I obviously got dostracted. Damn work.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

jtsuited

ah ****e now i'm gonna HAVE to go play. Fantastic post dom.

cardshark202

Great post Dom, and nice addition there Laf. These new subforas are proving their worth!

ianmc38

good post dom. lol at laf "3 to a run"

jtsuited

cardshark202 wrote: »

These new subforas are proving their worth!

look at you and you're fancy wordage!:)

DeadParrot

Just an idea but maybe we could conspire to add something about betsizing.
When not to bet full pot etc....
just a random thought

El Hamos

After spending an hour reading through the Omaha etc HH's & theory threads and frantically jotting down notes and pionts, I'm expecting big improvements in my game. I have appionted you lot as my mentors . Some great posts.

con_leche

El_hamos,

At .25/.5 just pot it pre-flop, if you are coming in for a raise.

Don't limp AAds, KKds, and quality run-downs, even from early position, as you want a big pot if you flop big, even out of position.

There are plenty of times when you need to drop AA, or KK on the flop, depending on your position, flop texture, the action and your reads.

However, this loss can be easily offset by leveraging position effectively, raising draws in position, raising TPTK in position, raising more marginal hands in position, where in general you have a ton of FE.

What you should find is that your raising range should widen, close to or on the button, as here it is so much easier to play your hands and your draws post flop.

If in doubt, just raise it up pre. This will put you out of your comfort zone, but as you learn to play better post flop PLO, it is far more profitable in the long run.

Killme00

Two Interesting Strategy Threads for Beginners:
http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=8361246&page=2&fpart=all&vc=1

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=84146


I found this thread interesting: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055039328&referrerid=&highlight=

Propokertools is essential http://www.propokertools.com/simulator/omahaSimulationEditor.jsp?b=9s8h2c&h1=QJT7&h2=99**

PLO Pot Control http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=11550433&an=0&page=0#Post11550433

Good Post Bad Play http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=10358158&an=0&page=0#Post10358158

I have a few more which i will add tomorrow if they are worthwhile.

The Al Lad

Good thread

Thanks

BigCityBanker

Omaha, dont go nuts with the nuts[/QUOTE]

Ste05

BiffoBeater wrote: »

How not to play AAAx OOP:mad::mad:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=233044

Only noticed this now, this kind of rubbish is not on. One weeks ban.

I'm sick of continually warning you to stop posting off topic and rubbish posts.

Ste05

Killme00

Excellent post on 2+2

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=98598

gondorff

5starpool wrote: »

all you need to know who to work it out is 3 x the last bet, plus the rest.

Preflop: 1/2 blinds. Two limpers, a pot raise to 11, a caller and you want to raise. The max amount is 51 in this case ((3 x 11) + 11 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1

This second paragraph is very misleading. If you call the 11 and then want to raise the pot, then a pot size bet is 29. Therefore, your maximum bet as next to act after the raise to 11 is 40. (3 x 11 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1).

If the maximum bet were 51, then technically you would be betting 40 into a pot of 29. This would be inconsistent with the first paragraph.

I mention this only because of some confusion in a plo game last night (players and dealer scratching their heads). The boards oracle was consulted (see second paragraph) and, in my opinion, defenders of the cause were wrongly acquitted.

Clarity please.


Edit: They, like I, misread the second paragraph; two limpers, a pot size raise to 11, one caller....
Apologies.

I just knew it was wrong to say 3 times the bet plus the bet plus everything in the pot before the bet.

Fellas you know who you are!! I encourage all of you to re-read 5starpool's excellent explanation.

RichieLawlor

gondorff wrote: »

This second paragraph is very misleading. If you call the 11 and then want to raise the pot, then a pot size bet is 29. Therefore, your maximum bet as next to act after the raise to 11 is 40. (3 x 11 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1).

If the maximum bet were 51, then technically you would be betting 40 into a pot of 29. This would be inconsistent with the first paragraph.

I mention this only because of some confusion in a plo game last night (players and dealer scratching their heads). The boards oracle was consulted (see second paragraph) and, in my opinion, defenders of the cause were wrongly acquitted.

Clarity please.


Edit: They, like I, misread the second paragraph; two limpers, a pot size raise to 11, one caller....
Apologies.

I just knew it was wrong to say 3 times the bet plus the bet plus everything in the pot before the bet.

Fellas you know who you are!! I encourage all of you to re-read 5starpool's excellent explanation.

Jesus Jim i had you down as being a smart cookie

Grafter

Great thread.

http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-forum/index.php?showtopic=66345

is a good read

gondorff

RichieLawlor wrote: »

Jesus Jim i had you down as being a smart cookie

Shoulda gone to specsavers.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

6 pages of Cardplayer articles on Omaha here:

http://www.cardplayer.com/magazine/category/omaha?page=1

obv bear in mind that Jeff Hwang proposes a playing style that is tighter than a nun's ****

VI_BEAR

don't ever play like this guy

PokerStars Game #24342323581: Omaha Pot Limit ($2/$4) - 2009/01/27 23:39:55 GMT [2009/01/27 18:39:55 ET]
Table 'Ennomos VI' 6-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: BadBeatsRus2 ($396.15 in chips)
Seat 2: 8115899 ($697.70 in chips)
Seat 3: xblumpkin ($460.50 in chips)
Seat 4: SO BLACK ($100 in chips)
Seat 5: AAKKDBSUITED ($216.60 in chips)
Seat 6: md7156 ($152.50 in chips)
SO BLACK: posts small blind $2
AAKKDBSUITED: posts big blind $4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to AAKKDBSUITED [Th Ac Ks Ad]
md7156: folds
BadBeatsRus2: folds
8115899: raises $8 to $12
xblumpkin: folds
SO BLACK: calls $10
AAKKDBSUITED: raises $36 to $48
8115899: calls $36
SO BLACK: calls $36
*** FLOP *** [7s 7d Js]
SO BLACK: bets $52 and is all-in
AAKKDBSUITED: raises $116.60 to $168.60 and is all-in
8115899: calls $168.60
*** TURN *** [7s 7d Js] [Qh]
*** RIVER *** [7s 7d Js Qh] [4s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AAKKDBSUITED: shows [Th Ac Ks Ad] (two pair, Aces and Sevens)
8115899: shows [8d 2c 7h Ah] (three of a kind, Sevens)
8115899 collected $233.20 from side pot
SO BLACK: shows [9s 6d Ts Tc] (a flush, Jack high)
SO BLACK collected $297 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $533.20 Main pot $297. Side pot $233.20. | Rake $3
Board [7s 7d Js Qh 4s]
Seat 1: BadBeatsRus2 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: 8115899 showed [8d 2c 7h Ah] and won ($233.20) with three of a kind, Sevens
Seat 3: xblumpkin (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: SO BLACK (small blind) showed [9s 6d Ts Tc] and won ($297) with a flush, Jack high
Seat 5: AAKKDBSUITED (big blind) showed [Th Ac Ks Ad] and lost with two pair, Aces and Sevens
Seat 6: md7156 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Ryano858

Good thread

Ryano858

Where is the best place to play live

Ryano858

In ireland that is

LuiseMoore

Thanks for the post