Omaha 8 hands from the small blind

[lunchmeat]

I'm very new to O8B, and I wanted to know what people think are good hands to play for half a bet from the small blind. My guess is that you can loosen up quite a bit here (particularly with high hands), since the flop defines a lot of Omaha hands. I would appreciate some help, and maybe an example or two, of hands that are good to call with from the small blind that you probably wouldn't otherwise play. Thanks in advance.

[Buzz]

“I'm very new to O8B, and I wanted to know what people think are good hands to play for half a bet from the small blind. My guess is that you can loosen up quite a bit here (particularly with high hands), since the flop defines a lot of Omaha hands. I would appreciate some help, and maybe an example or two, of hands that are good to call with from the small blind that you probably wouldn't otherwise play.”

Lunchmeat - It’s not easy to answer your question, since the hands I play for half a bet from the small blind depend on a number of factors and are thus somewhat variable. I’d generally fold a hand like Ah6hTsTc, but if I felt reasonably certain that the big blind would not raise, I might play such a hand for a half bet from the small blind. 245X non-suited is another hand I wouldn’t ordinarily play (despite the fact that it has three wheel cards), but I might play 245Xn for a half bet from the small blind. AA99-non-suited and A379-non-suited, are a couple of other hands I might not play for a full bet, but would probably play for a half bet. Note that except for 245Xn, these starting hands all have a very reasonable capability of ending up as the nuts. (245Xn is a second nut low type hand - needing an ace or a trey to be the second nuts and needing both an ace and a trey (plus another low card, of course) to be the nuts for low - could make a straight for high, but it's generally very vulnerable (to a higher straight).

Ah6hTsTc looks good after a flop with two or three hearts or a ten with two lower cards (especially if paired), but not one or two higher cards. However, since such a flop has a low probability of occurring, and since I’m probably out of the action when I don’t get such a flop, I wouldn’t ordinarily play Ah6hTsTc. But for half a bet, when there are four or more opponents who will be seeing the flop, seeing the flop seems a bargain not to be passed up.

Similarly AA99n needs an ace on the flop or a nine without a higher card. There just aren’t that many flops that work with the hand. I figure roughly one sixth of the flops are playable - and those are usually flops with low cards - meaning you’re playing for only half the pot.

Similarly, you usually are playing for low with A379n, and even if you do flop a deuce, your hand is very counterfeitable. I’d generally play a suited (to the ace) A379, but not a non-suited A379. However, for half a bet.... it seems such a bargain!

Basically, the deal is that you generally want to play starting hands that have a good chance to scoop. But for half a bet, you can afford to play hands that only have a good chance to win half the pot.

Just my opinion.

Buzz

[crockpot]

sure, you can loosen up, but the key is you have to avoid letting your loose call preflop cause you to play badly from the flop on. for example, i'd probably call in SB with A456, but you can't fall into the trap of playing on if the flop is J72 or the like. i'd also play any A3xx if the game is loose, but not play on unless a 2 flops with another low card (or i flop a miracle high hand).

try to look for hands that are longshots to hit a flop but become powerhouses if they do hit. KKxx, for example, is probably worth playing for this reason.

[iblucky4u2]

First I will say that I am looser than most, especially when it comes to defending my blinds. I do not recommend my style for beginners. With that in mind, let me suggest that you ask yourself the following questions before calling even half a bet:

1 - How good is your hand?
2 - How many callers so far?
3 - How likely is the BB to raise?
4 - How will this hand play out of position even if it hits?

After you rate your hand, then you can figure out if the pot odds of calling for 1/2 a small bet is worth it. Personally, I get very loose if I feel that the BB will not raise.

With superior hands I will look to make a value raise because after the flop it is hard to get action on most hands. If I feel the BB is aggressive and might raise, I will go for a check-raise!

I like high hands here, especially if they have a suited A. I might even go for a raise with hands like AKsQT or AQsQJ. Most players read raises as A23 type hands. These type of hands become monsters when they hit. I actually like showing high hands after I raise because it then helps me get action on my later raises.

There are some hands that I will not play from the SB that others will because they cannot be played in a way to maximize profit or they are vulnerable, even if they do hit.

[chaos]

If you are going to start loosening up in the small blind you must play well from the flop on. Otherwise what seemed like a bargain for half of a bet was just an illusion since it will cost you bets on the the later streets.

Generally you are playing hands that have scoop potential. From the small blind for half a bet you can play hands that are long shots to scoop if there are already many callers (and the big blind is unlikely to raise). These include hands where you need to hit 2 cards to give you a nut low with a straight draw. You can also play hands that will only win high such as KKxx or QQxx.

I would still avoid hands like A5xx NS and A6xx NS. You chances of making the nut now are pretty nonexistant. If the Ace is suited it may be worth a half of a bet to play for your flush.

[Ray Zee]

food for thought.

loosen up from where? play looser than if you were under the gun. or looser than if you were on the button. what is the spot you are playing looser than? or are you saying play looser than in general of all the hands you might find yourself in the pot with.
and when you play looser you also find yourself in many more marginal spots after the flop and now you are always out of position on the hand. is this what you are looking for.
are these things worth getting 8 to one before the flop rather than say 4 to one on the just before the flop money.