'Tune In, Bet Pot, Cash Out'
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‘Tune In, Bet Pot, Cash Out’ The Texas Holdem Players Introduction To The Winning Pot-Limit Omaha Mindset Mark’s Intro To This Guide Since I first started the Omaha Planet website, Omaha poker – and in particular PLO High – has gone from a quirky change to Holdem to a serious poker variation enjoyed by many thousands of players every day. While I am sure Holdem will remain as the first choice, the continuing growth of Omaha gives those of us who love this game a huge opportunity to profit. This guide is primarily aimed at those making the transition from Texas Holdem over to Omaha for the first time at the lower to mid buy-in levels. Though PLO players with some experience will also benefit as a ‘refresher’. I hope that readers will benefit by gaining an understanding of how an Omaha player thinks about different situations – and how to use this knowledge to profit from players who are not considering all of the important factors. There is a steady stream of cash being brought to the tables by players who give away their hand too early, overvalue non-nut holdings and fail to bet their biggest draws for value in multi-way pots. With the help of this guide and the articles over at Omaha Planet you will soon be building your bankroll with this money! Before we start the guide, I urge readers to take special note of the sections on game selection. Not all sites or tables are equal for PLO games, there is no doubt in my mind that those of use who take the time to find the softest games at the softest sites will do significantly better. If you struggle with the odds and equity calculations I also recommend checking out a tool called Omaha Indicator, this is a fantastic help while you are learning the game and has a 3 day trial. I know several players who still profit from the advice given by this unique tool, even though they are now relatively experienced. GL at the tables, Mark http://www.omahaplanet.com Copyright Notice: The contents of this guide are copyright and may not be reproduced without express written permission. We proactively protect this text, and all associated websites using Copyscape TM, and have a “no exceptions” policy of always reporting infringements to ISPs, Search Engines and any 3rd party sites our material is used to commercially promote. 1 Table Of Contents: Part #1 – The 4 Conceptual Differences Which Shape Your Approach 1) Starting Hand Selection, Structure + Nut Potential 2) Protecting Hands And Betting Draws For Value 3) Pot-Limit Betting, Planning And Manipulating The Pot Size 4) Isolating Weak Opponents And Taking Orphaned Pots Part #2 – Detailed Articles On Specific Hands And Common Situations 5) Your Omaha Poker Bankroll, Size And Variance 6) Key Elements Of Good Omaha Table And Site Selection 7) Straight Draws And Wraps In Pot Limit Omaha 8) Double-Suitedness, How Big A Difference Does This Make? 9) Full Houses In PLO, Don’t Overvalue The ‘Under-Full’ 10) Final Thoughts, The Size Of Omaha Games + Links To Further Reading 2 Part #1 - Overview, The 4 Key Differences Between Holdem And Omaha We get into many specifics in this guide, including specific hands, betting situations and opponent types. Just for a minute we start by stepping back and look at 4 areas which might seem ‘obvious’ but actually have a big effect on really understanding the subsequent text. These are - Instead of Thinking About Starting Hands In Terms Of Their Inherent Strength, Consider Them In Terms Of ‘Playable Structures’ And ‘Nut Potential’. - Instead Of Thinking About ‘Pricing Out Draws’ Or ‘Protecting Vulnerable Made Hands’ - Start Betting Your Big Draws For Value, Often As A Strong Equity Favorite - Instead Of Thinking About The Price To See The Next Card, Plan Out The Possible Betting Sequences Though The Hand Based On Your Opponent(s) And The Pot-Limit Structure – Then Manipulate This To Your Advantage. - Instead Of Thinking About Expectation In Isolation, Consider How You Will Stack Each Of Your Opponents In Future Hands And Adjust Accordingly – While Ensuring You Take More Than Your Share Of Those Smaller Pots Too! Many players making the switch to Omaha actually feel too comfortable with the similarities in betting structure. The differences are much bigger than they first appear, and go way beyond ‘draw only to the nuts’ , ‘don’t overplay those aces’ and ‘starting hand values are close together’. Let us go through each of the key areas and provide some more detail and examples. 1) Omaha Starting Hands – Structure + Nut Potential Showdowns in Omaha require each player to use 2 cards from their hand and 3 from the community card board. When moving from Holdem a simple and effective way of considering the strength of your Omaha hand is in terms of the number of possible 2-card combinations you will have should you reach a showdown. To picture this imagine your 4 cards are marked A, B, C and D. You have 6 combinations of 2 cards as follows: A+B, A+C, A+D B+C. B+D C+D 3 Now we can look at some real PLO starting hands and compare the number of ‘live’ combinations that they contain. Let us compare K-K-8-3 of 4 different suits with 9-10-J-Q with just 2 suits. The K-K-8-3 hand contains only one combination that can effectively hit the flop, K-K. In fact the rest of the hand means that (barring a miracle flop) that unless you hit a 3rd King you will probably have to throw your hand away. In fact even if a King does flop the presence of 2 suited cards, or another high card could easily mean an opponent has a monster draw against you – caution would be advised! The 9-10-J-Q hand has many more combinations that could hit a strong hand on a number of flops. All 6 of the 2 card hands work together in some way to make straights and the 2 suits mean there are (non-nut) flush possibilities as well. Imagine a flop of A-K-8, with 2 of your suit – the number of live combinations in your hand make you a strong favorite to make the best hand by the river. Structure And Nut Potential In PLO Starting Hands Structure is a key determinant of quality PLO starting hands, however it is not the only one. You also need to consider the potential to hit the nuts. A good way to look at this is to consider the advantages of double suited cards (2 cards of each suit in your starting hand). While the smaller suited cards give you a possible escape route when outflopped , and often provide ‘backdoor’ possibilities, how comfortable would you really feel getting all-in on a suited flop with a 9 high flush? Of course, your suited cards can also act as blockers for a flush drawing against you – I will cover that area later. Nut potential is largely driven by high-card strength, to uncover the real premium hands in Omaha we combine coordinated structures, suitedness (especially with the ace) and high cards together. There is some debate among expert PLO players as to which is the best starting hand of all. Some argue this is A-A-K-K double suited, while others prefer A-A-J-10 double suited – personally I am happy to see either! PLO Starting Hands Guide – Hands Containing 1 Pair A-A-x-x hands are strong in PLO, however the extra help given by the additional cards is a critical factor in how aggressively you can play them. If the side cards offer no help, and your stack is ‘deep’ they can in fact be trouble hands. That is to say that unless you can get a good proportion of your stack into the pot pre-flop is can be better not to re-raise, especially out of position. Since aces unimproved will rarely win a showdown in Omaha you need to have some backup. Even a small amount of help from side-cards for example A-A-J-3 with 1 suited ace is stronger – now you have a small amount of nut flush and nut straight potential to go with your high pair, though you would obviously prefer 4 cards working together. 4 K-K-x-x and Q-Q-x-x hands follow the same guidelines, these hands need backup from the side cards to a much greater extent – as you will not always be making top set those times you do hit the flop. You may also be drawing to the non-nut flush when these hands are suited with their side cards. Kings and queens are strong hands in Omaha, however caution is advised when otherwise tight players want to build a big pot after the flop. All other paired hands without backup must be played cautiously. Top set is a great hand to flop in Pot Limit Omaha, however any draw combination may leave you vulnerable to both the flush or straight and the fact that any over-card may give an opponent a higher set. Think of it this way. You have 10-10-7-2 and see a flop of 5-6-10 with 2 opponents. You could easily be facing a combination of 7-8-Q-Q and 3-4-A-A here (or other similar combinations)– that is a lot of straightening cards that destroy your set before we even consider suits, with deep stacks a potential trouble hand.