Understanding The Basics of Omaha

As a new player to most poker games, learning a list of starting hands is a pretty good way to start yourself out on the right path. This is doubly true for a game like Omaha. Omaha is a more complex form of poker when compared to Texas Hold’em and it is extremely easy to get yourself into trouble early on. As a result, sticking to a list of starting hands is a great thing to do because it will usually keep you out of trouble and help keep the game less confusing. Below is a good list of starting hands along with reasons to play them.

Ace-ace combinations: Any hand that you get that contains a pair of aces is a great hand with which to start out. With that said, not all ace-ace hands are equal and some hands are better than others. AAKK double suited is the nuttiest hand you are going to start out with when you are playing Omaha. You are holding top two pair and any set that you happen to flop will be top set. You also have the possibility to make the highest possible full house if you flop a set. Additionally, since you have two suited AK combinations you are looking at two different nut flushes and you if you make a straight you are holding the best straight as well. This is the hand you always want to see when you are playing Omaha.
To demonstrate the difference in quality that can appear in ace-ace hands is to compare the above hand to a pair of dry aces like AcAs8h4d. While this hand does have a pair of aces, the rest of the hand is not as attractive. For example, this hand is lacking any flush options and it is missing options with straights as well. There is only one set that can be flopped instead of two and there are many hands that can catch up with this hand. With that said, this hand is still favored when compared to any other hand except better ace-ace hands. As such, it is extremely important to raise pre-flop with weaker ace-ace hands because it reduces the number of hands in play and reduces vulnerability post flop.

There are many other excellent hands that include a pair of aces including AAQQ, AAKK, AATT, AA99, and pretty much any ace with another pair. If either of the aces shares a suit with one of the other cards then that is even better because you have the chance of a flush as well and if you hold two suits that is even better.
Even without another pair to accompany them, aces can still be extremely good when they are paired up to make hands like AAKQ, AAJT, AAKJ, AAKT, or AAQJ and, as with the other hands, if any of them are suited that is even better. These hands can all be played aggressively before the flop and the number of hands that exist that are better are quite limited and also contain aces. The difference between absolutely amazing hands like AAQQ double suited and weaker hands like a double suited AA95 is the fact that the first hand has two monster pair as opposed to just one which gives it much more possibilities.

King-king and Queen-queen combinations: Like any hand that has a pair of aces in it is a good starting hand, the same is true for hands that include a pair of kings or a pair of queens. These hands are not as powerful as a hand containing a pair of aces but they are still extremely good hands.
The best of the king-king and queen-queen hands are hands with the kings or queens supported by another large pair like jacks or tens and they are suited. For example KsKcJsJc is quite an excellent hand as is KsKc9s9c with the former, quite obviously, being better than the latter. Any flushes that you get will be king high but you can make big sets and strong full houses particularly with the KKJJ hand and the former can make bigger straights as well.
Below the double suited double pair hands are hands that are single suited like a KsKcJdJc. Below this you are looking at single pair kings and queens with things like KcKsQcJs and the like which offers strong flush opportunities, the chance to draw into a full house with a good set opportunity, and decent looking straight options.

Wrap Hands: Wrap hands can be quite good and the best of the wrap hands is JT98 double suited. Obviously, double suited hands are better than similar hands that are only single suited and single suited are, naturally, a step up from hands that are completely unsuited. With that said, the primary source of strength for these hands is not the flush opportunities which can easily be beaten by king or queen high flushes but, rather, all the opportunities for straights that can be made.

With wrap hands, you do not need the hands to be that tight and you can have hands with gaps and a hand with a gap in it will be able to draw into a straight that needs any of 20 outs which is quite good. Obviously, having higher starting cards is better and it gives you a higher chance of getting the nut straight. What many players do not realize is that there is a big difference between the above hand and a hand like AKQJ. JT98 can be make straights on both the top and the bottom; whereas, AKQJ can only make a straight to the bottom. With that said, any straight made with AKQJ will be the nut straight.
The danger with wrap hands is the fact that small wrap hands can actually pretty poor. If you look at a hand like 6543, it has all the merits of a hand like JT98 in the sense that you can make straights on both sides. Unfortunately, even if you hit a straight the quality of your straights are very weak. Making a straight with something like a 6543 still leaves the possibility open that an opponent made a bigger straight and, even if they haven’t, there are players that could be drawing into straights or better. Getting too invested in a hand like this can end up costing you most or all of your chips. As such, better Omaha players usually avoid these weak wrap hands because they can often end up being not worth the effort or chips.

It should be noted that it is always preferable to have double suited hands over single suited hands and singled suited hands are better than hands that are not suited at all. Double suited hands leave good opportunity for flushes and straights and the chances go down from there with single suited or unsuited hands. The double suited wrap hands are the kind of hands that can often end up winning pots in Omaha.

The next set of hands are good starting hands but they do not come close to the level of hands like hands that are based on pairs of aces, kings, or queens or hands like big suited connectors. With that said, these hands and hands like them are generally playable but aren’t hands that you should really be excited about and they should not be played too aggressively.

Very Good Hands
Qc-Jd-8c-6d: This is a hand that is good for a call and it can flop a flush or a straight draw so it can be a winner under certain circumstances.

Qd-Qs-6c-3d: With a hand like this, you can call if the pot hasn’t been raise. Your small cards are pretty much worthless in this scenario but you have a chance to flop a set of queens.

Kh-9h-6s-5s: You can call with a hand like this if the pot hasn’t been raise. There are a few draws that are possible with this sort of hand but it is unlikely that you will be best.

Ah-Jc-Td-8s: Hands like this are markedly worse than the premium hands that were detailed above but there is a good opportunity for a straight. A hand like this can be played in situations where the pot has not been raised. If someone has raised ahead of you, chances are their hand is probably much better and you are better off packing it up and waiting for a better opportunity.

9h-9c-8c-8d: A hand like this has the potential for a straight, a flush or a set but the options aren’t very strong. This hand is playable but not overly so.

Each of those hands is playable because they provide you with a number of different opportunities to make a good hand such as sets, flushes, or straights. These hands should typically be played if the pot has not been raised. These do not typically turn into nutty hands and if you are looking at calling a raise, the chances are really good that you are looking into the jaws of a bigger beast. Playing these hands requires more knowledge and comfort with the game and the players at the table but they offer a player some room to work if they know what they are doing.
There are quite a few hands that are truly unplayable in Omaha and below are a number of examples of hands that should not be played under any circumstances. Even calling a single bet is not worth it with these hands and they should not be played from any position.

Garbage Hands
7s-7c-4c-2d: The possibilities for this hand are limited and none of the limited possibilities are all that attractive. A set of sevens is quite weak and is far from a guaranteed win. Making a seven 7 straight or flush is really low and leaves a vast number of other hands that could take it out of the running.

Qs-Js-6h-5h: This is the type of hand that players who are transitioning from Texas Hold’em will look at and think it is pretty good. The problem is that even though this can be split into two good Hold’em hands, they do not have good synergy for Omaha. Neither the five nor the six has any synergy with either the queen or the jack which leaves not much else in terms of viability. A queen high flush is good but a 6 high flush is very vulnerable and the straight options are polarized and limited.

4c-4h-3d-3s: Small straights and small sets can be as dangerous and troublesome as small pocket pairs in Hold’em. They are often good for second best which usually means that they are going to cost you more chips than you are going to win on the off chance you get lucky.

As-2h-3h-4c: A hand like this would be a good hand in Omaha Hi/Lo, in Omaha High this hand should never make the cut. You cannot make any straight that will not be beaten by another one and a three-high flush winning is, more or less, completely impossible. A pair of aces would not have any decent kicker making that an unviable avenue to victory.While you’d raise with this hand in Omaha/8, you shouldn’t even call with it in Omaha-high.

Kh-Qd-7s-6c: With a hand like this the only thing that you can look at are two different possible straight combinations with absolutely nothing else to go for it.

While the hands that are recommended above are not the only hands that can or should be played before the flop, it gives you a very good idea of what a playable hand looks like and a decent understanding of where they rank against other hands. When learning the game, it can be a good idea to stick to these hands while you get the hang of the game until you can start to make more decision on your own. This will prevent you from playing too many hands which is the case when most players are new to Omaha and you will rarely find yourself in a situation that is confusing. For most of these hands, they pretty much play themselves. You will be able to get away from many of these hands easily if you do not get a piece of the flop and when you do get to stay in the hand, your hand will be really good and have a strong chance of winning.

Posted by Joel on Jun 2 2010. Filed under Poker Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry