[CrisBrown]

Hi youngin,

Standard disclaimer: I'm new to Omaha, so don't take anything I say to the bank....

I don't think your play was terrible, but I think you could have played it better. At the turn, you have: (a) an overpair; (b) a non-nut flush draw; (c) a paired board; and, (d) position on an opponent who has checked to you.

Why not check behind and take off a free card? If you hit your flush, you have position and can decide how to play it on a paired board. If you miss, you have only an overpair on a paired board, and you can get away without losing any more than your pre-flop and flop money ... which went in when you were ahead in the hand.

It seems to me that this is a big part of playing Omaha. Well, it's a big part of any poker game, but it seems to come into play a lot more with Omaha, because the "best" hand does change so often in the course of a single pot. But I try to get as much money into the pot as possible when I think I have the edge, and as little money into the pot as possible when I'm not sure I have the edge.

Now, if someone calls me when I have the best of it, and a card comes off that looks to have made their draw, my goal is to NOT pay off their implied odds. Obviously, you can't do that every time. But that's my goal.

Here, your opponent called at the flop, meaning he's likely caught some piece of the flop. When the board pairs at the turn, there's a pretty decent chance it's made him trips, putting him ahead, and killing your nut draw. While it's not 100% that you're behind, the fact is that all you have is one pair and a non-nut draw. So don't put any more in the pot, and don't pay off his implied odds.

Cris