I mentioned in an earlier article that betting in Omaha needs to be regarded with some caution and respect due to the unpredictable nature of the value of a hand. In Omaha, hand strength changes quickly, and if something goes wrong, it is hard for even an experienced player to bluff themselves a winning pot.

I’m going to presume that for most people reading this article, that their first experience of Omaha will be played online. Even if you are playing in a casino, this advice will still apply. Now, Omaha isn’t as complicated as people assume, but there are a lot of people who rush in where angels fear to tread, who take risky gambles on hands that aren’t really that great!

This is a reflection of inexperience and a devil may care, fingers crossed kind of approach. Many people don’t spend the time to consider their hand before betting or calling pre-flop. They have four cards and the mentality quickly becomes: “Some of them have to hit!” If you play Texas Hold’ Em a lot, then, I am sure you have been amazed at people going all-in pre-flop with low cards such as a 2 and 3. I’m sure once or twice you have been even more amazed when they fluke a straight or two pair and win. It happens.

Some Omaha players are no different. But the big difference is, that they now have four cards, which for some reason increases this careless attitude. This is probably due to the confusion at the range of possibilities, but is something that can be simplified. As this is definitely a factor for any player, you can learn to instinctively see winning hands as I will explain. In any tournament or long playing poker game, part of the battle is survival, it means not making costly mistakes, which you will probably sub-consciously regret even as you make them. So the key will be learning to fold hands that are ‘chancers.’ I.E they have a lot possibilities but don’t put you in a strong position pre-flop.

If on the first hand someone bet’s all-in - fold, its that simple. You may find that some people call them, but what it boils down to is that someone is ‘going home’ in the first hand! If, at the start of any game, someone bets all-in there are very, very few reasons to call, even if you have AA KK. Because without being able to read that person, by following them into a ‘blind’ all-in they have reduced the game to bingo, and, you won‘t have much come back if it fails! No-one can survive for long playing bingo in a poker tournament.

The other aspect to consider with the all-in at the start (or for that matter any point) of any tournament is that once you have made this statement, and trust me in poker going all-in is a statement, you can no longer do anything else. In most cases players read an all-in as either: “I have something - call if you dare,” or, “this is my last shot / I’m trying my luck.”

In both Omaha and Texas Hold’em you need to be able to build pots, and going all-in is the antithesis of this and usually scares most sensible players off, although it may meet calls from people who also feel that have something stronger. As mentioned at the start of a tournament an all-in is foolhardy, but later in the game, an all-in may be called for when you have patiently waited for a decent hand and need to maximise the possible amount of chips to win.

Once the wheat has been sorted from the chaff, and, the quick thrill-seekers have all eradicated themselves or have realised that haphazard play will get them no-where, things will settle down. This is when you can calmly start playing the hands that offer a possibility. Remember that you are looking to build as strong a hand as possible, and that in most cases you need to aim for at least a flush or straight as a good target to win any hand.

So at the beginning of any tournament (or even in a ring game), it is wise therefore, to play what is known as a short stack tactic. A short stack tactic basically means that you tighten your range on the hands that you play. In Texas Hold’ Em for example you might only play AA, KK, QQ or AK, KQ, QJ and so on, in Omaha you look for the same, but, possibly, with some more interesting combinations in the actual mix of the four cards - so for instance AA10Q could be a good hand.

The small stack tactic, simply, is to play as few hands as possible, which, means you need to be patient and wait for a killer hand. Short stack also considers the position in relation to the size of the bet. For instance, if you are next after the blinds, you maybe only call a hand, that, in a later position, you might raise. And the further away from the blind you are, the, more you may be able to play a wider spread.

An example of cards and bets made pre-flop to illustrate the importance of position:

Position Bet Cards Sensible Decision / Players intention

Big Blind 100 chips Check

Small Blind 50 chips Fold

Everyone folds until we get to the ninth player.

9 th Player 200 Chips Raise

10 th Player 200 Chips Call

Now although originally Player 1 as the Big Blind was hoping to check with his hand, they feel that based on the amount of the other players and the cost of the bet it is still worth playing. So they call the extra 100 chips required to see the flop. Wisely Player 2 with the small blind still folds.

As you can probably judge from the combinations of the cards above, it was probably wise that most of the other players folded, as we can see most high value cards are in play. The twist on this occasion is that someone with a pair of 5’s in their hand, for instance, might have had a possibility of making three (or four) of a kind, whereas it would be very hard to impossible for any of the other betting players to make three or four of a kind. Most of them however are looking at making a straight or flush as the likely winning outcome, which, would easily defeat any three of a kind.

As we know, what could be perceived as a possible strong hand can all change on the flop, and, indeed the very thing that made your hand look strong - might suddenly become the very thing that makes it weak. What is being demonstrated though is that no matter how strong you believe your hand, the later in position you are, the more confident you can be about the cost of your hand. If Player nine had raised more considerably, it might be possible that other players would not have called them. And what if Player 10 had raised the bet even higher, forcing everyone who had bet so far to match them or fold? So basically the later in position you are the more choice you have in how much you want to pay to play.

Be it in Texas or Omaha I have one rule for the hands that I am playing, which is, would I be prepared to go all-in if needs be? Now this may seem strange based on my earlier comments about going all-in, but, it is always a factor that you need to consider. Because, and not that I would always play a hand with the intention to go all in, but, if it came to it, what percentage would you be happy to?

If you are playing a 22 in Texas Hold’ Em chances are you realise it is a massive risk. It’s a hand that is normally reserved for those big blinds that don’t get raised, and, if you are lucky followed by a flop with another 2 on the deck! Even then - they are played cautiously, and would usually only win due to a weaker player folding under pressure, or no-one bets because no-one finds anything better.

I’m sure you would have seen hands like this, you may have played them, but I doubt anyone would have felt comfortable about going all-in with them. Compare that to the feeling of holding three Aces and I’m sure the likelihood increases dramatically.

As Omaha is about mathematical probability more than clever bluffing you really have to be careful about the value of the cards you play. It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to estimate the value of your cards however, which is why I recommend the mental all-in test. If your hand fails by a long way - fold the cards!

Mike @ Power Poker Course.




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