The Poker Beard

I my opinion, PL Omaha is a far more skillful variant of poker than the perenial favourite that is Hold’em & is my favoured game.  It is also less “Solved” than NLHE, meaning there is good profits to be made in PLO where as it is virtually regular players shuffling money back and forth on the Holdem cash games these days.

Not sure if it is the concept of playing 4 cards or the real potential of big variance & the resulting tilt that puts people off the Dodge Viper of poker but there is a dirth of PLO action on PokerTime at the moment, to introduce players to the game they have instigated a number of online events & the next one is a freeroll on Wednesday the 19th.  While a freeroll cannot prepare you for playing for something that matters it certainly provides a safe enviroment for players to get a feel for the game, hopefully the PL aspect of the game will prevent the “Shove Monkeys” causing too much grief.

I always suggest Jeff Hwang’s Omaha books as a starting point to learning the game as his analysis is bang on, avoid Rolf Slotbbom’s first Omaha book as it comes across as “Look how great I am”, his book re shorthanded play is better though.

So, what advice for players about to embark on their Omaha journey by trying the freeroll or perhaps microstakes ?

1, Be calm of spirit – In this game you can face massive swings of fortune, especially against bad/new players who chase bad draws with a bad combo of starting cards – You perhaps pot or repot your top set on the flop in position to protect your made hand against an unlikely draw only to get check called to the river where only a monkey would play a hand that hits such a naff board bigger than your set.  It will happen at this level & you will see the stone cold nuts turned over far more often than in Holdem, usually turned or possibly rivered as draws are king in Omaha & if you’re prone to tilt when someone gets “Lucky” this is not the game for you.

2, Smart Lie – Bluffing is part of Omaha (Maybe not as much as in Holdem) & works against thinking players but other than some crazy loose players, I believe a bet or reraise means exactly what it suggests at this level particularly on the river.

3, Holdem hold over – A lot of Holdem players new to the game will play starting hands A K 6 7, A J 7 8 ie broadway cards with “Connectors” for a raise or by calling a raise as their Holdem eyes see two playable holdem hands, hands which seperately normally only face 1 or 2 opponents on the flop but in pot limit you will be facing possibly 4+ opponents on the flop, turn & maybe the river, they will be playing good Omaha hands where all 4 cards work together – A K Q J, A Q J 10, A A K Q, K K J 10, J 10 9 8. Remember the importance of suitedness too, 4 cards which contain flush possibilities ie A Q of spades is worth far more than 4 rainbow cards.

4, Thou shalt not fold – Further to the above comment, a lot of new players coming over from Holdem will be loathed to fold the “Nuts” on flop, for example they hold something K K 7 6 rainbow and the flop comes K Q 10 with two of a suit & there is a LOT of betting action, a lot of the time it is correct to let go of your set due to facing at least the straight and flush draws if not being already behind a straight.  New players remember how strong a flopped set is in Holdem and hang on for dear life, where given the betting action with the fact they have probably not invested much in the pot to get to the flop they should be more inclined to fold.

5, Good cards good, bad cards bad – It is more true in Omaha that good starting hands win more than bad ones, FACT.  This point is important, A A K Q (Double suited) is far superior to A A 6 2 (rainbow), Q J 10 9 provides better draws than 10 9 8 7.

6, Postional advantage – This is far more apparent in Omaha than Holdem, players in position are simply far better off than those out of position, particularly pot building on your terms.  A first to act player can only bet up to the pot on the flop where as in postion you can bloat the pot or simply control pot size to your advantage, also the first to act player cannot force players out of the hand with a huge bet as they are constrained by the pot size.

7, Spot the Aces – Around this level you can spot a player with a pair of Aces in their hand as they will raise & reraise regardless of position and regardless of whether they have “Good” or “Bad” Aces. (See point 5)

8, Hold on – In my experience, PL Omaha tournaments online have a really high attrtion rate, the players tend to get decimated within the first hour, so playing tight and holding on till the first break is a pretty decent strategy.

Obviously the above are just general basics as this game can be beautifully complex when facing decent players and yet it can be satisfyingly simple when grinding out safe profit from unimaginative players by playing a solid style, most of all Omaha is far more fun than Holdem & all players who have become a little jaded with poker.

I’ll be playing as “Omaholic54″ & hope to see you on the tables !