In Omaha, it usually takes a great hand to win! Two pairs and three of a kind don't win very often in this game. You need to have the best straight, flush, or full house most of the time to be in with a chance.
Don't be aggressive and raise before seeing the flop unless you are holding a very strong hand, Aces or Kings for example, and are in a position to narrow the field. Another time you should raise is when you are un-raised on the button and have a strong hand, it's important to not let the blinds play bad hands cheaply.
Don't try to play every hand. The most popular mistake for beginner players is playing too many hands. If you play any two cards with the hopes of hitting a great flop, you will often make the second best hand. This will result in your chips wasting away as you pay for missed flop after missed flop.
Fold your straight or straight draw if that's all you have and you don't hit on the flop. If you do get the right kind of flop, then it's important that with all the added number of combinations in Omaha compared to Texas Hold Em, that you aggressively bet/raise to scare off any players that may have back door flush draws.
Don't over value low pairs. A pair of fours in your starting hand is only useful if you see more 4's on the flop, but then even a low three of a kind on the flop is not a very strong hand in Omaha, throw them away.
With the likelihood that a great hand will win in Omaha, don't solely focus on your hand, take into account the actions of other players and what type of hands that their actions suggest that they may have. This may lead you to fold a strong hand if you feel that, with the community cards available and the betting behavior, a player may have an even better hand.
This may sound a little complicated but once you're thinking about what your opponent has, you should try thinking about what your opponent may think that you have. It's simply a case of putting yourself in your opponent's shoes and trying to think what your actions may be telling him. This behavior is key in the art of bluffing.
It's useful to get caught bluffing once in a while. This raises your level of unpredictability on the table and while you may lose a few chips when it doesn't work, it will get you calls from weaker hands down the line when you are strong and need the chips.
It's important to find a game with a stakes level that you feel comfortable at. You should be playing at stakes that are not so high that you are afraid to make the moves you need to make, but not so low that you play carelessly. If you're not sure, err on the side of caution and play lower stakes. You can always progress to higher stakes if you're sure that you're not being challenged enough.
Always analyse your play. Look back at important hands and consider what you did right and what you did wrong, and how it impacted upon your results. If you identify a real error in your play, you can then try to correct it before your next game.
Omaha Strategies and Tips - RULES
Want to learn more about Omaha Poker? Click here to learn the rules of Omaha Poker.
