Ariston on Omaha

Okay, this month's article is on the game that I've been spending most days playing and is on the game that is in my opinion the most profitable cash game at the moment on Betfair.

Pot Limit Omaha (PLO from now on) is by far and away a more "technical" game than NL Hold'em. Previously Ben Grundy has written past articles about Omaha but he plays at levels that most of the readers of The Deal can only dream of, so I will give you a few key bits of advice at playing smaller stakes.

The first thing to consider is what level you can afford to play. Although Omaha is played as a pot limit game, the swings are far higher than in NL Hold'em. I would say that if you had a roll of $2,000 and wanted to sit in a 2/5 Hold'em game then that's not a bad idea if you play cautiously. If, however you try a 2/5 PLO game with the same roll, I would say you are mental and are at serious risk of going broke. The reason that the swings are so big in Omaha is that some hands you just cannot get away from and you are correct to be all-in in big pots far more often than you are in Hold'em. It's possible to sit in a PLO game and have 4 or 5 pull-ups and still be in front 10 minutes later. Before you choose your level make sure you can afford a few "rebuys" and don't sit down with your entire roll.

Table selection

The key thing to do before you jump into an Omaha game is to have a look at the average pot stats in the lobby. Many times the average pot size will be greater than 100bbs. If you see this, you know the table is a loose ram-jam type table and you can easily get your big hands paid off. This sort of table is the most profitable but can also be the sickest with you continually getting outdrawn by people chasing non nut draws etc. If you observe the tables for a while before sitting down and take notes, you will quickly spot who are the gamblers and who are the rocks. Rocks in Omaha get paid and win more than they do in hold'em because people will chase them down and still call bets completely against the odds.

Pre-flop strategy

There are several schools of thought on this but really it depends on your table make up. If you play "by the book" then you should only play four working cards (4 cards that all go well together like 6678, 9TJQ , AAJQ etc). This is fine in theory but if you are on a table where there isn't much pre-flop action (only usually 1 raise pre-flop then several callers) it isn't wrong to see as many flops as cheaply as possible. If you play your hands with four working cards strongly then you'll always manage to thin the field. The most important thing you should beware of preflop is the dreaded AAxx hands. This is not hold'em and AA in Omaha is nothing but a trick. Sure, if you can get all or most of your money in pre-flop against one opponent then you are a favourite but not likely to be that much of a favourite. If you only ever raise or re-raise with AAxx then I will have notes on you to that effect and will be calling you with all sorts of random hands trying to catch a flop and get you to stack off to me. If both aces are suited and have working str8 cards then that is a far more powerful hand (eg AsAhQhJs). So many players lose their whole stack on rag ace hands and it's by far the most common error new players make. If you are going to take control of the pot then you must be raising or re-raising lots of pots with all sorts of hands - if you raise with 789T and get re-raised by a rock then you must call to try and catch a favourable flop. If a few others call along with you there is no shame in tanking it in if you aren't deep stacked. I will gladly take four hands on with that sort of hand if I am getting 4 -1 pot odds (as I won't be 4-1 against 4 other hands that's for certain). If you are on a table that is raise, re-raise etc on every hand then I would tighten up and look to get all my chips in or play big pot poker only. This may mean sitting and waiting for 20 hands waiting for the 4 working card combo or an AA double suited hand, then I would just be trying to get it all-in pre-flop. Sure you won't be a huge favourite but if you get all your money in as favourite (on a ram-jam type table you are likely to get it all-in pre-flop) you aren't doing anything wrong. The problem with overplaying AAxx on a passive table is when you get five callers and the flop comes 458 or something silly- you know you are now probably beat so you now have to fold (although there are loads of players who will still happily ship the rest of their money in because they have AA then moan when your rag pre-flop hand wins).

On the flop

This is when most people make huge errors. There are many different ways of playing on the flop but the main thing to realise is the draw is often favourite over any hand. If you have 89JQ on a flop of 7TK and you also have a flush draw, you should be happily getting all your money in. If you have KK on the same flop you should also be getting your money in (or should you??). If I have top set on such a draw heavy board and someone bets the pot at me, I am not re-raising there because if he does have the huge draw then he is actually favourite. You should always be thinking what the other guy could have rather than just looking at your own hand. I would much rather smooth call a bet there and get it in on a rag turn card than allow him to get his money in as favourite. Also, if you call and he hits what you think he was aiming for, he will then bet the turn and it could be correct for you to call to try and pair up (especially if you are both deep stacked). If you were both deep stacked and you re-raise the flop you could end up doing the lot on a hand like this. The simple rule of thumb with draws is if you have more than 15 outs on the flop then you are favourite in the hand (make sure your outs are nut outs if possible especially on flush draws). In the example above the 89JQ would have only 12 nut outs (3 6s, 3 8s, 3 9s and 3 aces) against an unknown hand but a further 12 possible outs (the flush draws if live gives 6 more cards and the other 3 js or qs to give an ignorant non nut str8). If someone is betting at you on a flop and you have the made hand like top set, it is reasonable to assume he has the draw and vice versa. If you are keeping notes on players you will also realise which players play which hands and how they play them. Some players always check-raise all-in with the nut flush draw for example, some others always fire the pot after potting it pre-flop with AAxx (and my bank manager thanks them for doing this). The bare nut flush draw is another mistake many players make. Contrary to popular belief the flush doesn't always arrive in Omaha so why do so many players happily get all their money in with the nut flush draw on the flop? If you are heads up in a pot then you are usually getting just over even-money on a 7/4 shot. If you have nut flush draw with some str8 cards or even a pair on a broken flop then that is different as you can always catch a 2nd pair or straight which may be good. Don't just look at your hand and think ooh that's pretty, work your odds out.

Ariston returns with turn and river play in Omaha in next month's issue of The Deal.