Limit hi/lo expectations

[Beavis68]

From those that have played a lot on the net, do you have a ridiculously high win rate at Omaha 8ob? Like 5-20BB per hour at the low limit tables? I have been playing a hour or so a day, and it has been just amazingly profitable.

[CarlNiclas]

It is nice to win a lot! However, you didn't say how long you have been playing.

What I have found though, is that people on the net usually play much worse Omaha than they do Hold'Em. In Hold'Em, even the worst of players know not to call UTG with 72o (ok, some do, but they are not very common) but you frequently see people calling UTG in Omaha with stuff like QT62 rainbow, or even worse, all in one suit. (Any four cards can win - twice!! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] ) It will make the game more frustrating as the few times you will be playing, you will often be outdrawn. But at those times you sit with the nuts at both ends, it is very sweet.

Another reason it might be more profitable to play Omaha is that as people think that they have more ways to win (both high and low) they stay longer. The pots can get incredibly large even if you're sitting with the nuts.

Btw, I play at $3-6 in both games.

[iblucky4u2]

Personally, I do not play online. But there is a huge spread between 5 &20 BB/hour.
Low Limit O/8 is very profitable due to the advantage 2+2'ers have by knowing to play quality hands pre-flop and not chasing with out proper odds.
The other factor in your favor is that most LL O/8 players are idiots - they will play any 4 cards for multiple bets hoping for the perfect flop/turn/river.
How much one can win depends on lots of factors, but win you will if you play tight/aggressive.

[chaos]

If the game is loose and full of weak players, yes you can have very high win rates at Omaha/8. This is true for brick and mortar card rooms as well as online.


A couple of reasons for this.

Many players do not realize that your strategy for Omaha must be built around scooping pots.

Many players have no idea what is a playable hand preflop. Some players think that if their four cards contains a good Hold'em hand (or two) then it is a good Omaha hand (e.g. they will play any pair of Aces.) They do not realize the importance of having all four cards coordinated.

Their post flop strategy is not much better. They fail to make the proper adjustments when coming over from Hold'em. (In Hold'em flopping bottom set is usually a strong hand; in Omaha it is dubious.) They draw to hands that are not the nuts. Often they are drawing dead. They fail to adjust the odds based only playing for half of the pot.

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]
Like 5-20BB per hour at the low limit tables? I have been playing a hour or so a day, and it has been just amazingly profitable.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is a very large range you mentioned, and probably the result of a very small sample. I am new to LL O/8 on-line, and find that I can do well just by playing tight, and jamming with the nuts. I have not seen anyone consistently getting that kind of results in any session I've been in.

O/8 at low limits can be profitable simply because most players don't know how to play correctly, and are gambling. At any full table at Party, there are typically a couple of rocks who only play A2, and 3-4 action junkies who rarely fold any hand preflop. But with that many fish calling all the way, you are going to get sucked out a lot. And even played correctly, Omaha is known for big surprises on the river. Just playing ABC poker should win 3-4 BB/hr.

If you are winning 5-20 BB/hr, I'd guess your variance is quite high, and you are likely to experience some big swings.

[Beavis68]

I purposely kept the range large because it seems like it might be acheivable by someone better than me. Mine was in the middle somehwere at the time.

It is a very small sample size. Right now, on party, I am hitting about 9BB per hour, but I am sure it will drop.

It is hard to keep good records on ultimatebet. I was hoping that some players that had put in serious time had some records. I am only playing the lowest limit right now, but even if I can only maintain 5BB per hour, I will be ahead of my NL Holdem sit-n-go earnings.

It is amazing how bad people are. Raising pre-flop with 5544 double suited, then raising into a flop of 10 10 K becuase two of their flush cards hit - just incredible stuff. The tables on party 8 people see most flops - so there is a ton of dead money in each hand. Sometimes, people will even limp in, then fold for a single bet from a late position player - who probably has 9 9 6 2ds - yeah I saw that one two.

I am only been playing seriously for a few weeks now - I dabbled before while working on my game. I played at UB - but started up at party when I heard how loose they were.

UB is a little boring, the players are a little tighter for the most part, and slow to act, probably because they are playing multiple tables at once.

[donkeyradish]

I just played five consecutive $10+1 Sit N Go tournaments at Omaha hilo, and my results are 2 wins, 2 second places, and one loss! This is at my first attempt (in 1-table Omaha8 tournaments).

And in my first $5 Omaha8 multitable tournament I made 4th place (out of 200 players).

To be honest I don't know if this was pure luck or I've hit on the right strategy. But I'm certainly going to keep trying to see if it continues.

[Lunamondo]

It can produce more money if it's a loose game, but one also pays about a double rake compared to holdem (high only) at low limits, because of split pots and suckout compatibility. Personally I never beat omaha-8, though I didn't play is much either (200 hours) and got real unlucky. But it's a bad game for rake reasons at higher low limits; it must be played at high limits, minimum of 10-20, or at tournaments or offline when there is no rake (at higher limits), and maybe big bet poker but I haven't made a study case of it so not sure.

Omaha-8 is from one part the nuts game where I am the only one who plays garbage like 5T (A2s5T, A3s5T, A25T, A35T) when I should play 4T or better, to express it like this.

There is little game in that game as it's about the nuts and not about the game, and some looser players just do not make the day as the rankings of garbage and "quality" hands go close when it's like 2-3-ways and one might usually have to call as one might get a split.

Maybe big bet poker or high limits can produce some difference but as they are generally more or less kind of shorthanded, I don't see how they could, or maybe big bet poker could in case you have the time to wait long enough.

[omahahahaha]

Although there is plenty of money to be made in omaha/8 , 9 big bets an hour is expecting too much. I play lots of 20/40 party omaha and surprisingly, just over a year ago i was playing mostly ten and thirty dollar single table tournies(2 or 3 at a time) and developed a bankroll sufficient enough to play 3 or 4 games at party's highest limits. So if anyone is finding a it a tough time at the low limits, i would suggest or take donkeyradishe's advice and play lots fo tournies, as they are extremely profitable.

[Beavis68]

I got a tough lesson in table selection last night. Came across a maniac that was in EVERY pot, and raised half of them, this kept players out, he was also quite likely to raise of re-raise the flop. This made it expesive to play, and lowered implied odds. I played the table to see if I could adjust my game, but the cards just didnt come. I was playing a typical 8 to a flop table also, and did well. I understand that at the upper limits of the game the BB/hr are going to be lower, but has ANYONE out there tracked there rate at the lower limit tables? Up to 2/4 perhaps? I would like to have a benchmark to compare my long term play with.

Omaha, were you talking about the hi/lo sitngos? The blinds go up so fast in those, I didnt like them.