Players have long heard that it can be very profitable to switch from the more popular Texas Hold’em to playing Omaha. But just making the simple decision of going from one poker variation to another can be difficult enough. There is a lot of studying, practice, and patience that is required to make a successful transition. When you add the fact that Omaha also has two very popular variations in Omaha Hi-Lo and regular Omaha then the switch becomes even tougher. Here is a quick look at how the two games differ so you can make the transition a little easier.
Getting Quartered
Much like Hold’em, Omaha gives the full pot to the player with the best hand. Omaha Hi-Lo, on the other hand, gives half of the pot to the best qualifying low hand if there is one. And one thing about qualifying low hands is that players can often tie for the best one which means they’ll split a quarter of the pot (both players usually hold A-2). For this reason, you can’t get overly excited when holding the low nut hand because you could actually lose money if you over bet and get quartered.
Starting Hands
When playing Omaha, you’ll find the best hands will be the ones that give you the best possible shot at the nut like A-A-K-K. In Hi-Lo, you want to get both a hand that is capable of taking the high hand and one that is capable of taking the low hand. With this being the case, you’ll be hoping to get A-A-2-3 or close to it as far as starting hands go. So it is in your best interests not to bet too heavily with a hand like A-A-3-10 because the 10 puts you in no man’s land for a high hand. Obviously this can still be a good hand for half the pot, but just be careful.
Bluffing
Naked bluffing in Omaha is something that can be pulled off sometimes in the later streets of a hand. However, your luck won’t be quite the same in Omaha Hi-Lo since many players will call you if it goes down to the river. The reason is that they’ll think they can still get the low hand and this is worth a call to them. In short, you will almost always be called on the river if somebody thinks you’re bluffing.
Tags: Betting, Omaha, Poker Hands, Tips
