Is it worth my while to learn Omaha?

[teddyFBI]

For those of you who play Omaha regularly, is the concentration of fish anywhere close to what it is for hold'em? I would think that b/c of how hot HE has become most newbies would start there, and only more serious players would bother to learn and play Omaha...am I way off-base??

How about the caliber of Omaha competition online vs. in casinos...besides just learning it for my own curiosity/skillset and for a little variation every once in a while, do you think it would be +EV for me to devote a significant chunk of time to learning / excelling at it...?

[IronDragon1]

Extremely.

Seriously you can't lose either way.

Most low limit PLO players play it so poorly they practically give you money if you just concentrate on betting when you have the best hand.

While 8/b is a game where it is easy to have a fairly high expectation while experiencing less variance since you will (hopefully) be putting your money in with many more cinches than hold'em

Never got the hang of PLO/8 but I can't imagine lower limits are that much more difficult than PLO.

Limit Omaha hi sucks a fat one-stay away from this game.

Never played Omaha in a casino (sure hope I'm able to soon though) but I imagine competition level is probably the same as it is for hold'em-players at any given level are much worse than its online analogue.

[Wahoo91]

What is the best book for learning expert play at Omaha?

[Yads]

Most definitely. The gap between Omaha fish and decent players is far greater than Holdem fish and decent players. Also add to the fact that so many players approach Omaha with a holdem mentality and you've got the makings of an extremely profitable game.

[Baulucky]

Not at your stakes.

[flair1239]

Speaking on low-limits, I think the O8 play is worse than the SSHE play.

I learned O8, so Icould take a break from hold-em if I am getting burnt out. Also I think in a few years O8 is going to get much more popular than it is now. So I am also trying to stay ahead of the learning curve.

[BradleyT]

You get 4 cards AND it's high/low? Wow, how could you even lose a hand?

That's what many of the fishies think.

[IggyWH]

[ QUOTE ]
Speaking on low-limits, I think the O8 play is worse than the SSHE play.

I learned O8, so Icould take a break from hold-em if I am getting burnt out. Also I think in a few years O8 is going to get much more popular than it is now. So I am also trying to stay ahead of the learning curve.

[/ QUOTE ]

I joined an O8 SNG once by accident on Party. I meant to join a NL Holdem one but wasn't paying attention and just clicked the first table I saw.

You can only imagine the total shock I had when I was dealt 4 cards. I was like WTF is going on!! I then looked at the top of the window and saw it was O8. I had never played the game before and didn't have 1 clue about it. I couldn't understand why garbage hands were winning chips.

I figured I was dead money so I just said in the chat what I had done. At first a guy jumped all over me saying it's not his duty to teach me how to play. This was really random because I never asked for help, I just simply stated my mistake and I was dead money.

Another guy on the table then gave me a real quick rundown of what was going on. I then just played real tight and only bet if I was pretty sure I had the best hand, hi or low.

I ended up finishing 2nd and if you believe in Karma... the guy who helped me out ended up finishing 1st. Since then I've read a little on O8 and I'll play an O8 SNG here and there to get away from Holdem. I've played a couple dozen and there's only a small handful of them I didn't make the money.

It seems like most people who play those O8 SNG's really have no clue what they're doing.

[FlFishOn]

"do you think it would be +EV for me to devote a significant chunk of time to learning / excelling at it...?"

Can you recognize the current nuts after looking at the board AND your hand (remember, must use two cards from your hand)?

If so you are 3/4 of the way to a winning PL O-8 player. The game is reasonably simple to play well and much easier to play poorly.

PL Omama high only can be a Eurotrash rock garden, collusion-fest. I stay away from it. My poker coach plays 4 tables of $5-10 blind and has no fear. 30 years experience goes a long way.

[TGoldman]

I've been dabbling in the low-limit Omaha 8/B games lately. Since I've only foussed on Hold'em until now, Omaha is a nice change of pace. Without knowing too much about the game (I just ordered Ray Zee's book), I've done fairly well so far just by being very selective about my starting hands. I've found that it's pretty easy to win at the low limits where it's common for 60%+ of the table to see a flop. It's a matter of nut-peddling--wait until you get a premium starting hand, try to build a pot, and then hope for a favorable flop so that you can take down at least 1/2 of the pot. With the amount of dead-money in the middle, even 1/4 of the pot isn't going to hurt.

That said, I don't think Omaha is the game of the future. How the hell is the drunk guy at the table going to be able to remember all four of his hole cards??