In Part I of this column on limit Omaha, we saw that, compared to pot-limit, there are quite a few differences in regard to which hands to play and how to play them, and that starting hands may be worth considerably more or less in limit Omaha than in pot-limit Omaha. In this column, I will discuss four more starting hands in limit Omaha, high only.
Hand No. 1: J
9
8
7
Analysis: I didn't like this hand in pot-limit Omaha and I don't like it here. It is almost impossible to make the nuts with the jack (the gap is too high; a hand like J-10-9-7 would have been a lot better), and you basically hold a 9-8-7 only. Even if you catch a long-shot flop like J-8-X or J-9-X, you are still a long way from pocketing any cash. In fact, you might be in a lot of trouble if you are up against a good draw(s), and if you're facing a better made hand, you may even be drawing dead. Stay out of trouble and fold the hand before the flop, especially from early or middle position. Near the button, the hand might be playable, but only if you expect no raises behind you.
Hand No. 2: K K 8 6
Analysis: With a hand like this, you can always see the flop, almost regardless of the amount of action (four- or five-way action before the flop is common in limit Omaha, even in capped pots). However, keep in mind that you will need help from the flop (preferably a king, two spades including the ace, or some kind of combination hand). If the flop comes with two spades and you are up against the nut-flush draw, the hand might prove to be quite costly, especially if you make the hand you are drawing to. That said, if the flop comes like this, it is hard to lay down your hand, even if you think your flush draw may not necessarily be good if you make it. Because you almost always have extra outs in Omaha (your pair of kings may become useful, or you might get lucky by making a straight that you weren't initially drawing to), it is usually still correct to go all the way to the river with your hand in cases like this. Before the flop, you usually don't raise to get players out (to thin the field), but to build a big pot in case the flop is favorable: It is better to pay two bets before the flop in a six-way pot than three bets in a four-way pot, in my opinion. (This is from a risk/reward point of view. You will usually have to receive help from the flop to continue in the hand, even if you're up against "only" three players. If you have to give up your hand on the flop, you will have lost three bets instead of two – for example, if an ace flops. But if you hit, you are likely to be so strong that you want to have as many opponents as possible. It doesn't really matter if you have two or four opponents trying to outdraw your top set; in fact, you would rather have four, because this will make you more money in the long run). In the unlikely case that you're playing in a rather tight Omaha game, you would raise before the flop to thin the field, also from early position, because you might be able to win the pot right away or play against only the blinds.
Hand No. 3: A A 10 8
Analysis: Believe it or not, aces aren't always that easy to play in limit Omaha. If you build a massive pot before the flop by raising and reraising, you might have to continue with your hand after the flop when you hold only an overpair to the board (pot odds dictate that you cannot fold too liberally here). Plus, because of your aggressiveness before the flop, people will suspect you of having aces and can put a lot of pressure on you by betting and raising – even if your aces are in fact still good. That said, with a hand like this, you want to play for a big pot, so you will usually try to get as much money into the pot as possible – and hope the "limit Omaha roulette wheel" will be good to you.
Hand No. 4: A 10 9 7
Analysis: The final hand is one we haven't discussed before. My pot-limit poker friends call a hand like this (a suited ace plus some middle-card straight potential) a typical limit Omaha hand – and I agree. With a hand like this, you can almost always see the flop in limit Omaha, even from early position. Because you can expect multiway action anyway, you will get enough decent flops to make calling correct, and the bare ace-high flush draw will often be enough to take your hand to the river. In pot-limit Omaha, this is almost never the case (the bare nut-flush draw is often not even worth a call if you suspect that your opponent is in there with a good hand – that is, if you think you cannot semibluff raise him off his hand). Therefore, in pot-limit Omaha, this hand cannot be played under all circumstances, even though I still usually play it from middle and late positions, sometimes even for a modest raise.
Some final words: Starting hands are important in just about any poker game – even though in Omaha, it sometimes doesn't look like it. However, you should always keep in mind that a starting hand is just that – a starting hand – and it is only a starting point for how you are going to play from the flop onward. This is even more true in big-bet play (especially pot-limit Omaha), where some of the best players see lots more flops than would seem right, simply because they know they can outplay their opponents. (Note that I do not fit into this category. I believe that playing very tight before the flop in just about any game will get me the best long-term results, even though it seems that loosening up a little sometimes wouldn't hurt.) If you have any questions or comments regarding my "Starting Hands" series, please feel free to e-mail me. Take care, and good luck.