Experienced Omaha players will attest to the fact that it is a game which focuses heavily on the turn and river.  The reason for this is that hands change dramatically from the flop to the turn so players can’t assume their chances based on the flop.  Too many players hit sets, straight draws, and flush draws on the flop for anyone to think they’ve won the pot already here.  So you’ve really got to focus on the turn in Omaha in order to figure out your chances for winning.

Reading the Board

As mentioned before, the turn will dramatically change everything when it hits the board.  This is why you need to be able to understand how certain cards will affect the outcome of the situation.  Certain cards will change the number of outs you have along with draws and possible made hands.  Making these reads takes practice, but it is something you must be able to do on the turn.

Figuring where your Hand ranks

After you’ve figured out what your chances are of getting a made hand by the turn, you need to evaluate where your hand ranks in comparison to other opponents and what they think you have.  If you’re playing a flush draw and have been betting like you’ve got a made straight then opponents are more likely to think you have something big.  And if they think you already have a made hand (even if you’re really only drawing) then your cards gain significant value.

Figuring where your Opponent’s Hand ranks

Figuring where your hand is and what your opponent thinks is only part of the equation because you still need to decide where your opponent is at.  If the board is representing a flush and your opponent (who happens to be a rock) is betting and raising heavily then you’ll probably want to fold if you’re only drawing for a flush.

Likewise, if your opponent is very loose and the board is weak for Omaha standards then you’ll want to extract as much money as possible from them if you’ve got a solid hand.

If you want to be a winning poker player then you obviously can’t just sit back and wait for the best cards to fall into your hand every time.  You need to take risks with hands that could be dominated later on if they don’t improve on later streets.  Of course by taking these risks, you also put yourself in danger of going up against superior cards later on in the hand.  That’s why you should know how to avoid getting trapped in Hold’em.

The first step to avoiding Hold’em traps is knowing the hands which can get you in a lot of trouble.  A-J, K-J, Q-J, and Q-T are all good examples of hands that can get you trapped in a hurry.  The thing is that most people think they can just limp in with these hands from early and middle position and be okay.  Unfortunately, if somebody after you raises then you’re stuck deciding whether to waste your initial bet by mucking or risk further money by calling.

If you do decide to call then you could be running into a major trap in the form of somebody else holding a premium hands such as A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, or A-K.  These hands all dominate the aforementioned ones and give the person holding them a major pre-flop advantage.

Of course this isn’t to say that these hands are worthless and should be folded.  The exact opposite is true since a hand such as Q-J gives one a strong shot at hitting a big straight.  Hands such as these are especially valuable when you are in late position and nobody has called the big blind yet.  When this situation arises, you can often steal the blinds with a raise or just call to see if you hit a drawing hand on the flop.  The key is to pick the right situations to play these hands.

If you’ve chosen to play poker for money then you have taken plenty of risks already.  In fact, the game of poker is full of risks so it’s not even worth going on about this.

But as we all know, the best players in poker will wind up winners in the end so there has to be something to these risks that people take.  And this leads up to a good point in that there are both good and bad risks to take in poker.

The first risk that you’ll often find rewarding is going all-in during tournament play when possible.  Now this is certainly a very risky move since you put your tourney life on the line every time you go all-in.  And there are a lot of pros like Phil Hellmuth who would preach against going all-in as long as you can avoid it.  But if you don’t try to double up every so often in a tournament then you’ll rarely be able to win the entire thing.  Just make sure to pick your opportunities correctly.

Another solid risk you should take in poker is making pre-flop raises.  Pre-flop raises allow you to both find out what other players might be holding as well as knock other people out of a hand who might just be looking to hit something on the flop.  Just make sure you’re holding at least high connectors like K-Q or a premium hand before raising.

Another school of thought here is pre-flop raising with a mid-level pocket pair. It can be a sneaky way of hitting trips on the flop – and still leave you an out if you’re grossly overmatched when the flop is on the table.

And while speaking of risks, you should know when not to take them too.  Obviously it will sometimes be tough to tell when you’re taking a bad risk, but there will be many times when you do know.  For instance, if you’re holding a second rate hand and a rock is raising like crazy then you are probably beat. Don’t take the risk of calling.  Avoiding unnecessary risks is immensely helpful. Save your chips for a good risk.