Omaha - A Game of Nuts

Here is a quick tip for you if you are a Hold-em player and want to consider playing Omaha, and especially Omaha High-Lo. Simply put Holdem is a game that has many different important aspects to it; no one thing is key. Hand selection is important, so is your aggression and your player reading ability. If you don't have a great hand in Hold-em you can often win a pot through well timed aggression. You might also be able to call a player down with a mediocre hand and often win the pot.

In Omaha, the single thing that is most important to winning is hand selection. Omaha is a game of the nuts. If you don't start out with a really good hand, you are unlikely to hit a nut hand. And if you are playing large pots with anything that is not a nut hand you are most likely going to lose. Although you can often win small pots without much action with hands such as two pair or the second or third low, if there is betting and raising in front of you these hands will cost you money. Two pair is one of the largest trap hands in Omaha. If there is a possible flush on the board, and you are getting bet at, your two pair is no good. If there is a possible straight on the board, ditto. Often times even an innocuous looking board will yield trips.

So how then do you make money in Omaha? The answer is so simple it might surprise you. Simply wait till you have good hands and play them strongly. Make everyone else who is trying to win with their second best hands pay for their optimism. Did you flop a nut low draw with a nut flush draw? You should bet it. Flop the high straight? Bet it. Except for some heads up cases, slow playing does not pay off. You should bet in order to build the pot, paving the way for larger bets on later streets. And you should also bet in order to trim the field so there are less dangerous cards out there.