Pot Limit Omaha Starting Hands Guide: By Nicole Martinez
Starting hands in Omaha poker can be confusing for newer players. Omaha features 4 starting – or ‘hole’ cards, exactly 2 from your own hand and 3 from the board being used to assess the best hand at showdown.
Holding 4 hole cards means that there are many ways in which each player can connect with the flop. The best way to look at this is to imagine 6 combinations of Holdem hands for each player. This increased number of ways of hitting the flop in Omaha has a big effect on the strength of starting hands.
The key to strong starting hand selection in Pot Limit Omaha is to play cards which work well together. That is, all 4 hole cards compliment each other in a meaningful way. For example we can compare K-K-8-2 of 4 suits with 9-10-J-Q double suited. While the Kings look strong there are not many ways of connecting with the flop – even if a king comes there is a danger that other high cards could make someone a straight. Conversely with 9-10-J-Q double suited has potential to make both straights and flushes as well as 2 pair hands. This is a stronger opening hand in Omaha because it has multiple ways to hit the flop.
There is some debate in Omaha poker concerning which is the best possible starting hand. Some people say A-A-K-K (double suited) and others A-A-J-10 (double suited). One way of looking at this is that both of these hands are very strong pre-flop. The additional benefit of the A-A-J-10 hand is to make the nut straight is actually fairly well balanced by the A-A-K-K hand’s possibility to make 2 different top sets. Be happy with either hand – if there is a difference in strength here it is very small.
Suited cards which are not ‘the nuts’ look better in Omaha poker before the flop than after it. For example J-J-9-8 is a strong pre-flop hand, however if the board contains a flush draw (giving you a potential Jack-high flush) then there is always a concern that an opponent is drawing to a higher flush. That is you may make your flush and still loose the hand. The advantage of playing lower suited cards pre-flop in Omaha is that your cards act as ‘blockers’ to opponents drawing to the same flush. For example if you hold 2 hearts and an opponent is drawing to a heart flush then they only have 7 ‘outs’ instead of the 9 cards that they think.
With no hand being a huge pre-flop favorite in Omaha it can pay to call small bets even if you know that your opponent is strong. For example if an opponent only ever raises with A-A-x-x then hands with straight and flush possibilities become playable – if you hit the flop hard it is then possible to build a large pot against your opponent. The very best ‘Ace-Cracking’ hands include holdings such as 5-6-7-8 (double suited) which can easily make hidden straights and low flushes.
Finally hands which contain low to medium pairs are dangerous in Omaha and should usually be folded if there is action ahead pre-flop. Hands such as 8-8-K-3 are more likely to make an expensive second best hand than the nuts. Middle pairs should only be played if the other cards compliment the pair. For example 8-8-9-10 double suited is certainly a very playable holding.
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