Omaha Poker is an action game and even the best of hands can turn into complete rags once that flop hits the board. This is one of the primary reasons that you will only see marginal raises before the flop and you will also see a lot of callers. The problem is that it is extremely difficult to get people out of the hand unless you are in position and playing PL Omaha.

Under the Gun
This is the most brutal position to be in with a big hand, especially when you are playing Pot limit Omaha Poker. You look down and see AdAsKdQs and you want to slam the pot, but you are only going to be getting a marginal bet in and you are not going to scare anyone. In actuality, you are only going to serve the complete opposite and make them very much aware of what you are holding. You are going to have to show some restraint here and limp in hoping for someone else to at least double the blinds and give you a real chance to hammer the pot.

If everyone else just falls in line, you are going to have to see how the flop plays out. Remember, you are not playing hold’em here and AA is not as big a hand as it is in that game. The ideal situation would have a couple of callers and then someone making a small raise with all of those players in. This is when you come right over the top and make a pot limit raise. You will chase all of the other limpers and if the raiser does call you, you have a very good chance of having 2 of his outs sitting in your hand. You definitely want isolation here if it all possible and that pot limit raise should get it for you.

Middle Position
When you get a big hand here, you are going to have to play it much the same way as you did in early position unless you get a couple of limpers in front of you. One is really not enough to get enough money into the pot to scare a marginal hand, but if there are two in there, you can absolutely let the raise fly. Again, you are basically showing your hand, but you have to scare some players out and deal with the callers on the flop.

Late Position
In an un-raised pot and several limpers, you are in a strong position to take this hand down pre-flop with a nice raise here. If there are no callers, you should still fire at the pot to make the blinds at least think about it before they get to limp in for free. Your hand is also not so obvious as you could just be looking to steal and may even see someone play back at you. That is a dream circumstance because now you can really lay into the pot.

You do have one other option when there are a lot of players in the pot, but it is a dangerous one. With that many players in the hand, you can limp in and see how the flop hits. You risk losing all of those blinds, but you also could hit along with someone else and have a totally concealed hand. This is something you may do when you are ahead of the game and can afford to throw away a possible pre-flop scoop. This will also give a little variance to your game and have them guessing the next time around.

Remember, you can never play the hands identically time and time again. If you don’t change up your style, you are telegraphing your hand to everyone as the table. When you are running good, you can make a move in middle or late position with lesser cards to represent a hand that you don’t have. You may even choose to show one of those when everyone folds to you to set them on tilt. Once you get them guessing, you hold an extreme edge and can set trap after trap.

Omaha Poker is a game that is played very much like texas holdem poker but has two unique differences in overall rules.  First, each player is dealt four cards.  From that point, the game is played much like holdem with a flop, turn, and river.  Betting occurs after each round as in holdem.  At showdown, players must use two cards in their hand and three cards on the board to make their best five card hand.  The best hand wins the pot.  Omaha is primarily played in two forms, limit and pot limit.  Pot limit Omaha is the most popular form and the form we will use for this article.

Omaha is a game of big cards and big draws.  The best starting hands are those that include two aces in them.  You also would like one or both of the Aces suited with other cards.  For example, the best starting hand in Omaha is A-A-K-K double suited, which means that one A-K is of one suit and the other is of another suit.  Not all hands with Aces are created equal.  Hands with two aces but two cards that do not coordinate are speculative hands at best.  Ac-Ad-8h-5s would be one such example.  You have aces, but nothing else really.  There are a couple of straight draws, but ones that can easily be outdrawn.  Hands such as A-A-K-Q, A-A-Q-10, A-A-J-10, etc are all fantastic starting hands.  Not only do you have a pair of aces, but you have multiple straight draws. If your cards are suited as well, especially suited with the aces, that gives you even more outs to win.  Most of the time you will raise the pot pre-flop when you start with a hand containing two aces.

Other great hands include hands with two kings and two queens as their top pair.  The same holds true for hands with big pairs as it does with aces.  Not all hands are equal and the hands with straight and flush possibilities are superior.  Hands that contain two pair are also strong hands.  Again, the higher the two pair and the more coordinated they are, the better.  For example, Qs-Qh-Js-Jh is much stronger than Qs-Qh-7c-7s.  Both are playable, but the bigger the cards, the harder your opponents fall.  These are hands that are can also be brought in for a raise pre-flop, but only call if someone else has raised.

If someone says that they have a wrap in Omaha, they are not talking about their lunch.  A wrap in Omaha is four consecutive cards that can make a straight.  The strongest wrap is J-10-9-8 double suited.  This hand will allow you to make any straight from a 9 high straight to broadway.  That is six different hands.  Lower wrap straights need to be played with caution as they can be trap hands.  A hand such as 3-4-5-6 can be easily outdrawn.  While you are learning to play the game, these are limping hands.  You can typically call a raise pre-flop with these hands, but I wouldn’t recommend calling more than one raise.

Not all coordinated hands should be played, at least not while you are learning the game.  Hands with two low pair (3-3-2-2), low wraps (A-2-3-4), two medium cards and two low cards (Q-J-5-6) , and suited hands with medium suited cards and two low suited cards (Qc-Jc-5h-4h).  Also, large unsuited wraps and hands with two pair that are totally unsuited are hands that can be potential losing hands.  I would recommend only playing unsuited wraps and big pairs either in the blind or in a very loose game.  If the flop does not improve your hand, get out.

Betting in Pot-Limit Omaha is a little different in most games.  First, the first player to open betting can raised up to seven times the small blind.  In a $1-$2 blind pot limit Omaha game, the player can raise to $7.  After the initial raise, each subsequent raise is the amount of the pot.  While other bet amounts are allowed, a lot of times players will tend to bet the full amount of the pot to either protect their hand, or to get more money into the pot.  Also, you will find that Pot Limit Omaha is an action game.  Due to the drawing nature of the game, many people will see a flop and stay in a pot after the flop due to the different possibilities their hand possesses.  In fact, more money typical goes into a pot in a pot limit Omaha game than does in a No-limit holdem game.  In many part of Europe PLO is more popular than holdem.

You need to pay careful attention to the board in Pot Limit Omaha and know where you hand stands at all times.  If you flop a set, is there a straight or a flush draw out there.  When you are on a straight draw, is it the nuts and are there any flush draws?  The board just paired.  How does that change the hand dynamic?  In Omaha, you need to be drawing to the nut or holding the nuts or you will typically be the loser, especially in lower limit games where fewer people will fold pre-flop.  If you hold a straight and there is a potential flush, get out.  If the board paired and there is more than one opponent in the hand, then it’s typically time to get out.  When your hand is 2nd nut or lower, you need to consider getting out of the hand.  Obviously, there are exceptions to this, but as a beginning player, you need to start paying attention to other possibilities.  This will save you money long term.

Omaha is a high action game that is not for the faint of heart.  The swings in this game are unlike any game that you will play, including No-limit holdem.  Developing a solid strategy is imperative to maximize your winning and to minimize your losses when you have a losing session.  With the above tips, you should have a great start in learning pot-limit Omaha.  Now it is time to go out and put these tips to use.  Good luck and I hope to see you at the tables.