Omaha starting hand selection
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FOUR ACES
Omaha is very different from every other type of poker, there are not many games where your hand will turn from trash to a gold mine in a heartbeat. The ease in which good hands are made will convince many players to play far too many hands. It is very easy to get sucked into thinking that pretty much any hand in Omaha can be played profitably. The reality of Omaha, however, is that you need to carefully think about what hands you are playing just as you would in Hold’em. A A 5 T may seem like a sure winner just because there are two aces, but in Omaha you are never that far ahead. If you had pocket aces in Hold’em (or Stud) you would be sitting pretty, but in Omaha they will get cracked time and time again. While pocket aces are technically the best two card combo in Omaha, they won’t win nearly as often as you might think. Suited connectors will become incredibly valuable when you play Omaha. Not only will suited connectors be valuable, but any type of double suited hand will have a ton of potential as well. A double suited hand is just as it seems, your four cards consist of two different suits and are split evenly. Perhaps the reason that double suited and connector type hands are popular is already obvious to you, but there is much more to Omaha hand selection than playing suited hands and big pairs.
Be careful
Omaha players frequently take their hand for its face value and give little or no consideration to its real value. Sure, a double suited hand with one pair and connected cards is great, but it may not be as good as it seems. There is a significant difference between Ks Kd 8s 7d and 6s 6d As Kd. You might be thinking, “The kings are the big difference between these two hands,” but the reality is that the ace is what makes the biggest difference. If you were playing Hold’em it would certainly be better to have kings than 6’s, but in Omaha you will need to have the nuts a fair amount of the time to take down a pot. There will be many hands in Omaha where you might have the K high flush and lose, far more times than in Hold’em. This is why you need to look beyond your hand’s face value. If you are looking to play a double suited hand that has a pair in it you are putting a lot of weight on the ability to hit a flush. If the flush is your aim pre flop you should be going for the best flush. There is another reason that 6s 6d As Kd is better than Ks Kd 8s 7d, however. Did you notice the difference in the connectors? 7 8 is much less valuable than A K. AK will allow you to not only make very solid top two pair type hands, but also the nut straight. Weak straights are destined for failure in Omaha and 7 8 is a perfect hand for destruction. You will be stuck when the board reads 6 9 T J 4 A. QK and 8Q will have you absolutely crushed, this will make your turn and river decisions incredibly difficult. You can avoid these tough spots by not overplaying mediocre starting hands.
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