Omaha lay off the pot button
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FOUR ACES
There is constant temptation to mash the pot button when playing Omaha, after all who doesn’t want to build a huge pot? The problem with a dependence on the pot button lies in the fact that it will disallow you the opportunity to really build up pots. Now, this might not make any sense to you right now, but if you think about it for a second everything will be crystal clear. To best illustrate why always betting pot isn’t optimal we can take a look at Hold’em. What normally happens when you bomb the pot in Hold’em? Your opponent will usually throw his hand away and you will take down the pot. The problem is that you need to build up pots when you have a strong hand, you don’t want to simply take them down. Sure, you want to win every pot that you have a shot at, but why sell yourself short? If you watch any Omaha game you will likely notice the amount of times where players simply pound the pot button for no good reason. The pot button is an option, but so is typing in your own bet.
Why is betting pot not optimal?
The aim of this article isn’t to say that betting pot is never optimal as that would be a complete lie. What this article is saying, however, is that there are many times where a constructed bet would be infinitely better than a pot bet. If you are playing a huge pot against a loose opponent it goes without saying that you should be mashing the pot button, but the reality is that this doesn’t happen all that often. The situations that you will frequently be in will require precise value bets. Omaha is no different than any other poker game, profitably lies in the ability to find a small edge and exploit it. Omaha players are just as apprehensive as Hold’em or Stud players; you need to manipulate them with caution.
What betting pot accomplished
Omaha players will often screw themselves into the ground when they make pot bets on the flop turn and river. Think about what types of hands will be calling three streets worth of pot bets, strong hands. If you are getting called down by a tight range it means that there is an increasing risk that your hand will be no good. If you make value bets you will be able to extract value from hands that you have crushed, these types of hands would generally fold if you elected for a pot sized bet. It is better to win multiple $40 pots when you make value bets than it is to win a $100 pot once in a blue moon. Aside from this is the fact that you will have many opportunities to take down huge pots when you are holding the nuts. Omaha is very unique in the sense that big bets will often be reserved for only the absolute strongest of hands. Next time your mouse hovers over the pot button you should take a step back and consider what types of hands will be calling your bet and what types of hands will be folding to it.
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