Omaha Starting Hands & Strategy Tips
In this Omaha lesson we’ll try to impart some winning strategies for this action packed poker game to get you off on the right foot. Let’s start right at the beginning which would be pre flop, and look at what would represent excellent starting hands as well as others that may look good at first glance but can get you in trouble.
Excellent Omaha Starting Hands
The hallmark of an excellent Omaha starting hand is one in which all four cards are interacting with draws to the nuts. You will notice that most of the suited examples we use are suited Aces. This is important because, as pointed out earlier, drawing to hands less than the nuts is not recommended. The nuts just show up too often in Omaha, and coming in second best can become expensive. Anyway, here are some of the best starting hands in Omaha:
Double Pair/Double Suited:
The Ace, Ace, King, King double suited hand outlined in the introduction is probably the best Omaha High starting hand. It represents an obvious myriad of opportunities.
One Pair with Connectors:
This category would be typified by a hand such as Ace, Ace, Jack, ten. Top pair coupled with connectors with maximum stretch to the nut straight is a strong start. Make them double suited for even better value.
Double Pair:
Any time you are dealt two pair you are only about 3-to-1 against to flop a set. Obviously if they are suited they go up in value and the higher, the better.
Three Connectors with a Suited Ace:
A starting hand such as Ace, ten, nine, eight, with the Ace being suited, is an excellent start. These hands offer you the ability to make the current nuts on the flop (a straight) with a free roll to improve to the nut flush.
One Gap Connectors with a Suited Ace:
An example would be Ace, Queen, ten, nine. This is actually a double belly buster straight draw with nut flush possibilities – very playable!
Troublesome Omaha Starting Hands
There are many hands that less experienced Omaha players think appear promising but really have the potential to just get you in trouble. Let me list several and then we’ll review what is wrong with them. They may look good but they play bad.
King, Seven, Seven, Five (Suited or Not):
Jack, Jack, Six, Deuce (Suited or Not):
Seven, Seven, Three, Three (Suited or Not):
This list could go on and on but that isn’t necessary. Let me just offer up a short list of what makes these candidates troublesome. These points should become your checklist to mentally run through when initially looking at your hand. One or more of these points apply to these troublesome starting hands:
- They are not premium pairs.
- They do not have a suited ace so your flush draw will not be to the nuts.
- All four cards are not contributing to the value of the hand.
- The straight possibilities have too many gaps.
In addition to these starting guidelines for playable Omaha hands, playing experience will help you hone your instincts as to what constitutes a good Omaha starting hand. Of course, factors such as your position, the texture of the game and your opponents’ playing tendencies must be assessed as well.
Omaha Strategy Tips
Now I’d like to offer up a series of Omaha strategy tips that should help you become competitive while gaining the necessary playing experience to master this fascinating poker game:
- When the board pairs, it is usually recommended to abandon straight and flush draws as the possibility of full houses becomes strong.
- Position takes on even more importance in Omaha than other forms of poker. With so many hands out, you should be cautious about playing hands out of position.
- Suited cards, while normally desired for flush draws, can also be important from a defensive stance. Imagine having the nut straight with a flush draw. If your flush draw is not to the nuts you really don’t want a third card of that suit landing on the board. Now those two cards take outs away from an opponent who may be drawing to that flush, hopefully helping your straight to hold up.
- Although highlighted earlier, this can never be repeated enough in Omaha. Play hands that employ all four of your cards for greater flexibility and profit.
- While there is generally less bluffing in Omaha due to the number of possible hands, most bluffs come on the flop against a raggedy board. Again, with all the possible hand potential these bluffs are hard to defend against. If you have a hand you believe is
worth calling with, then a raise would be in order. Against an uncoordinated board the best the suspected bluffer can have is a set. - Here is another tip that cannot be stressed enough – do not invest money on draws that are not the nuts.
- As seductive as a big pair, like Kings or Queens can be, if you have a hand like Q-Q-7-2 there is not a lot of potential – remember a basic rule of Omaha states that all four of your cards need to interact.
- Sometimes it pays to be cautious, even when holding the nuts and, especially, when out of position. Let’s image hitting the nut straight on a flop that contains two suited cards. When out of position, you should consider playing cautiously.
- Be careful of overplaying the short side of a full house. This occurs, as an example, if you’re holding pocket threes and the flop comes K-K-3. This may look great but could very well be a disaster in the making.
- The flip side to the previous tip is to play your top full houses strong. Let’s say you’re holding pocket Queens and the flop comes Q-7-7. You should not consider slow playing this holding. Hope someone has a seven or even better a Queen seven for the full house.
Omaha, while fascinating and fun to play, has the potential to really humble a poker player as well as his bankroll. No other poker game, with the exception of Omaha High-Low eight or better, which will be reviewed next, possesses the risk of having the “early nuts” falling prey to the “river nuts”. Prudence and discipline are two critical criteria to embrace, especially when just learning this great poker game.
Next Lesson: Introduction to Omaha 8 (High-Low)