Strategy For Omaha Hi Poker
Omaha Hi is the second most popular version of poker after Texas Holdem but it's still a largely undeveloped game. There are lots of Omaha players at most poker sites but the strategy for the game hasn't been studied anywhere nearly as intensely as that of Texas Holdem. Poker players who take the time and effort to learn a proper Omaha strategy can benefit greatly from all the casual Omaha players out there.
The two games might look the same but the proper strategies for Texas Holdem and Omaha are vastly different. You cannot play the same way in Omaha as you do in Holdem and expect to win. Pots in Omaha are usually won by hands that are much stronger than hands that win pots in Texas Holdem. In addition to that, your starting hand selection in Omaha must be completely different than what you use in Texas Holdem.
Omaha Hi Starting Hands
The easiest way to get yourself off to a fast start in Omaha is to pick strong starting hands. You cannot just play any old Omaha hand that has a couple of strong Texas Holdem cards. You have to play poker hands in which all four cards work together no matter how you arrange them.
For example, the hand AK59 has a strong combination (AK) but every other combination of cards is weak. This hand can realistically only win the pot in one way. A hand like TJQK, on the other hand, is much stronger. No matter how you arrange the cards, you'll have a solid starting hand.
Other strong hands include high double pairs such as AAKK, QQKK and so on. These hands have two strong pairs but all four cards still work together no matter how you arrange them. These hands are even better if they are double-suited.
Double-suited hands are hands in which there are 2 cards of one suit and 2 cards of another suit. This gives you two different flush possibilities while at the same time taking away your opponents' flush outs. Double-suited hands are great but you cannot allow yourself to get attached to flushes in Omaha unless they are the nuts.
When choosing your starting hands in Omaha, look for hands that have both high card power and hands in which all four cards work together. If you begin your Omaha strategy by picking the right hands, you'll already have a major advantage over your average Omaha opponent.
Omaha Hi Postflop Strategy
The differences between Omaha and Texas Holdem become even more pronounced during postflop play. In Omaha, you have to be extremely careful after the flop because there are so many cards in your opponents' hands. Anyone can have the nuts at any point in an Omaha hand. With four cards in each opponent's hand, there are six different hand combinations in each person's hand. You need be very wary.
In Texas Holdem, top pair is often strong enough to win the pot. That is rarely the case in Omaha. It usually takes the nuts or something close to the nuts to win a pot at a full Omaha table.
You cannot get attached to low sets, low flushes and big pairs in Omaha. A low set might look good at first but it can actually become a very expensive hand. If anyone gives you action, you're probably beaten. In the worst case scenario, you will improve from a small set to a low full house and get beaten by someone who had a bigger set the entire time and improved to a bigger full house.
One of the key skills new Omaha players should learn is knowing how to instantly identify the nuts. The nuts can change with the addition of every community card so you always need to be aware of what the strongest possible hand is. With that in mind, you can then begin judging the value of your hand.
Omaha Hi Draws
Drawing hands play an even larger role in Omaha than they do in Texas Holdem. If you play hands in which every combination of cards works well together, you can get draws that are more likely to hit than to miss!
Wraparound straight draws are the biggest draws in Omaha. These hands can also have flush draws to go with them that can give you 20 or more outs to improve. For example, the hand 78JQ on a 9Tx board has 20 outs to improve. Any 6, 7, 8, J, Q or K gives you a straight.
One very important thing about Omaha draws: you cannot get attached to draws that aren't to the nuts. Drawing to non-nut hands is a big waste of time because the only times you'll get action are when you're beaten. If you draw to a non-nut hand and nobody else can beat you, that means they have even weaker hands than you and will be unwilling to put much money in the pot.
Summary
Omaha poker is a game of nuts and draws. If you wait for strong hands in low limit Omaha games, you'll do fine because most players don't take the time to read up on Omaha strategy. Experience is the best teacher but it always helps to go in with a basic understanding of the winning principles of Omaha poker.