Most poker players who enter a card room or casino ignore Omaha High. Some would not touch it with a 10-foot pole.
Their reasoning is simple: they don't know how to play the game and they don't want to learn.
Jerry, one of my friends from Phoenix, puts it this way: 'I get in enough trouble with two cards. Why should I double my trouble with four?"
Excuse me, but that is a rather silly way of looking at a fascinating poker game, one that has real possibilities.
Now I have to be truthful. Over the years I have played very little Omaha High poker, probably for the same reasons many players stay away from the game. One night in Reno, NV. the poker room manager started up an Omaha High game. I had won considerable money at an Omaha High-Low game which had broken up and I allowed the manager to talk me into playing the high game.
The buy-in was $500. I played the game very timidly which I know now was a mistake. I won a couple of good-sized pots (it was pot limit) and after I lost a couple of good-sized pots, I collected my chips and left the game.
Here is the problem most Texas Hold'em players face when they switch to Omaha High: they overplay high pairs like aces and kings when they have little backup.
High pairs are not nearly as effective in Omaha as they are in Texas Hold'em. Omaha high is a game of drawing and outs. The most effective hand you can play is one that is double suited and one that hopefully has wraps.
I strongly urge you to learn to play Omaha High. It could make a huge difference in your career as a poker player.
However, if you decide to play Omaha, realize that the average winning hand in the game is considerably higher than in Texas Hold'em.
Your starting hand requirements are different as well. While aces are a powerful starting hand in Hold'em, there are times you should be willing to throw them away in Omaha.
Your top opening hand in Omaha High are A-A-K-K double suited. The second top opening hand is A-A-J-10 double suited. And the third most powerful opening hand is A-A-Q-Q double suited. If you don't flop high trips, you may end up with a strong drawing hand to a nut flush. Or you could wind up with a high straight.
Poker strategists rank the best Omaha starting hands as A-A-J-J, A-A,10-10, A-A-9-9, J-10-9-8 and down the line.
A double wrap is also a good starting hand, especially if the flop is a rainbow non-connected. Say you have 10-9-6-5 and the flop comes 8-7-3. You could catch any of 17 cards and have a nut high.
If your hand is 10-9-6-2 and the flop is 8-7-3, any of 18 cards will give you a winner. And if your cards are 9-8-6-5, you will have plenty of outs with a good flop.
Omaha High, especially pot limit, is anything but a boring game. It's a game of action and good draws. It's a game where the skillful player can do exceptionally well. You just need to be patient and wait for the cards to come.
The next time you visit Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City or your favorite Indian casino, sign up for Omaha High. In the meantime, practice playing the game at home. Get familiar with the flops and learn how to count the number of outs you have after the flop in order to have a nut hand.
Learning new games will make you into a better poker player. Staying with one game like Hold'em is boring and non-productive. I urge you to live, learn and profit from your new experiences. Good luck. Let me know how things turn out for you.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
