Limit Omaha (high only)
Part 1: Introduction

In the previous AceEXTRA's on Omaha/8, I have given some guidelines on how to play this game, what to look for in starting hands and some general advice on flop, turn and river play. I was glad to see that so many of you guys liked this series. Having said that, my advice should be considered nothing more than just a starting point to playing well; by no means is this series meant to be a definitive or complete analysis of proper play.

Today, I will start a series of articles on limit Omaha, high only. A few things to keep in mind when playing this game:

• In the U.S. and even in Europe, limit Omaha high isn't offered on a very frequent basis, even though at a certain period of time people claimed it would be the "game of the future". Either way, nowadays it is not easy to find a game for stakes that are meaningful, and limit Omaha games higher than, say, $20-40 are almost non-existent.
• Contrary to what some people claim, limit Omaha is not just luck. In my hometown Amsterdam, the game is still offered on a regular basis at the $10-20 and even $20-40 level, and despite the very high rake here I have been able to beat it for more than one big bet per hour over a (statistically) significant number of hours. Meaning: if you know how to play well, you can make a lot of money in this game - probably even more than in hold'em.
• The swings are much bigger. While a good player in A $10-20 limit hold'em game might drop $300 or $400 if things turn bad, a negative run in limit Omaha might easily add up to $700 or $800. This is especially true if you are in a game with a lot of preflop raising.
• Proper starting hand selection is the key to success in limit Omaha. Because of the (in general) looser play in this game with so many people seeing each flop, the game often boils down to nothing more than a showdown contest. You should select the types of hands that do well under this type of game conditions, meaning you should select hands that have the potential to build either top full, the ace-high flush or the nut straight.
• Because so many people stick around for so long, and because you hold four cards in your hand (as opposed to just two in hold'em), the average winning hand in Omaha is much higher: it is rare to find one big pair getting the money, and even a hand like top two pair doesn't win very often. You should therefore adjust your own perception of what constitutes a good hand. A pair of aces is a lot less magical than in hold'em, simply because without improvement it will probably not win, and flopped hands like bottom two pair, top / bottom pair, and even non-nut straights and flushes will usually just cost you money if there's any kind of action.
• There is not much room for expert plays in limit Omaha, simply because your opponents will call you with just the resemblance of a hand. In fact, after the flop even very good players often are forced to play exactly like average or even a bit-below-average players. Because of the odds they are getting on a call, they are forced to call much more liberally than they are accustomed to in games like limit hold'em or pot-limit Omaha (where both you and the other players can bet enough to force weaker hands and / or draws out, and where raising and folding are almost always better options than calling). But quite often, they will have no other choice than to call here, simply because the odds are there, and thus folding would be incorrect - and raising unwise.
• Limit Omaha being the ultimate drawing game, there is not necessarily such a thing as "best hand on the flop", as there often is in hold'em. In fact, a good draw may easily be favored over a hand like top two pair with nothing else, even though hold'em players would probably consider the two pair to be "better". This doesn't mean the top two pair should fold (just like the other players, he also gets good odds to continue in the hand), but it does mean that automatically becoming aggressive with it in order to punish the draws for staying in, like hold'em players probably would, is not necessarily the best course of action. What is the best course of action here, I will try to explain in the next few lessons.

Some final words

In the second part of this series on limit Omaha high, I will take a look at proper starting hand selection. Take care, you guys, and good luck.

Look for more information on this topic in Rolf Slotboom's forum.