The attraction of omaha

[PhatCasino]

i've been looking for some Omaha Hi ONLY games in vegas and the only ones i've found are the Orleans and some station casinos.... (Only Boulder and Palace??)


- The reason i like playing the Hi ONLY games is because its straight forward like hold-em, but then again your playing against a larger amount of clueless-math-odds-etc players.
I'd like to learn Hi/Lo and PL08, but I'm hesitant..

- Does anyone know of any more games that are consistently spread?

- In addition, I would consider playing Omaha Hi/Lo - but I have some questions about all the Omaha variations....
* Is Omaha Hi/Lo the same as Omaha Hi/Lo Split?
* Where is there a PL08 game? This also seems real advanced from what I read.
* What poker rooms in vegas spread constant games of all these variations?
- I have looked at poker room review sites such as allvegaspoker.com and pokerplayernewspaper... but can't seem to find that much concrete info..

The reason I'm attracted to Omaha is it is clear and simply an extremely profitable game..
with more clueless players
with higher hourly win rates
with less deviation
& with less bankroll required
than that of Hold-em....

* Comments/Suggestions Needed!

[AKQJ10]

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* Is Omaha Hi/Lo the same as Omaha Hi/Lo Split?


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Yes. And you didn't ask about "Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-better" but that's the same too. Caution, though -- when people just say "8-or-better" they usually mean Stud H/L, not Omaha.

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* Where is there a PL08 game?

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Europe. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Seriously, it's supposed to be huge over there, but I don't know where you'd find a B&M game in this country. Then again I'm not a Vegas regular.

[ QUOTE ]
The reason I'm attracted to Omaha is it is clear and simply an extremely profitable game..
with more clueless players
with higher hourly win rates
with less deviation
& with less bankroll required
than that of Hold-em....

[/ QUOTE ]

I play mostly H/L but that's certainly the case there. Most everyone gets some piece of any given flop, so there are a lot of people who fish along with their top pair or gutshot despite two suited or whatever.

[IceKing]

Omaha Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi-Lo Split, Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or better, Omaha8, O8, same game. In Vegas when people talk about Omaha, they mean Omaha8, I think. In Europe Omaha usually means Hi only. When the game is Hi-Lo, it says Omaha Hi-Lo or Omaha8.

What you said about deviation is true in Omaha Hi-Lo, but in Omaha Hi-only, deviation is much bigger, and bankroll requirements bigger than in Holdem.

During the WSOP there will be PLO(PotLimitOmahaHiOnly) action in Vegas.

[vegasbob]

they also have omaha high only at sunset station in henderson they play 4-8 there

[MisterKing]

We had a full list for PLO Hi at the MGM two Fridays ago, but I bailed because the 10/20 hold'em was too goot to leave. I don't think this game really ever goes there except on a demand basis.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

I have played omaha high only at boulder station. it's a helluva game, HUGE pots, MANY seriously IDIOTIC players. Example:

HUGE kill pot, nine players raised preflop. I am the only one who folded (true for most pots). Flop is some bullchit with a paired board. By the end of the hand, the pot has to be at LEAST $260. Winner of the pot? Runner-runner FIVE HIGH FLUSH. Winner has Kd 2c 3c 5c!!!!

So YEAH, omaha high only can be quite a game, with much profit potential.

The only problem is that the variance is going to be ENORMOUS because there is NO NUTS TILL THE RIVER. Basically, you need the nuts, or close to it, come the river, or you are frigged. Also, beware of having the nuts, but having so many redraws against you that your nuts aint worth peanuts.

As for omaha-8, there's a completely different story. If you want to play that game, I suggest the book by mark tenner as the place to start.

As far as O-8 goes, if you like playing with old crabby jerkoffs who like to argue, please, do play this game. I used to call it "argue-o-haw, " for obvious reasons. Another way I used to describe it was "a contest to see which idiot can get dealt A2 most often." Although the game might be quite beatable, it's rarely worth putting up with it to make the money.

Omaha-8 is SLOW, very slow. The constant split pots make it take considerably longer than hold'em, particularly if the dealer is a newbie. High only omaha doesn't really have this problem.

In addition, most O-8 is played with a half or full kill, and the criterion for a kill is simply that there be a scoop of 5 big bets or more. This means about 30-40% (estimation) of hands wind up being kills, as nearly every scoop winds up being a kill (there is often no low). That makes it play larger than it appears at first.

al

[Al_Capone_Junior]

I have played in most rooms around vegas at one time or another, and I am not aware of any regular pot limit O-8 games. Even if such a game existed, the VAST majority of dealers in vegas, even at the good joints, wouldn't have a clue how to deal pot limit, let alone pot limit O-8.

al

[PhatCasino]

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What you said about deviation is true in Omaha Hi-Lo, but in Omaha Hi-only, deviation is much bigger, and bankroll requirements bigger than in Holdem.


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i was brought to believe because your more selective about your hand in Omaha (pre-flop and especially post-flop) and your usually playing for the nuts... that isn't the case...

-can someone elaborate on the comparision of bankroll & deviation between hold-em and omaha?

[NoQuit]

[ QUOTE ]
-can someone elaborate on the comparision of bankroll & deviation between hold-em and omaha?

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I can't give you specific dollar amounts, but I can give you some idea as to why there are different bankroll requirements for Hold Em, Omaha HiLo and Omaha High. All of this refers to limit games and assumes that you are playing with al least average skill.

Omaha HiLo has the lowest bankroll requirement and the lowest variance. The reason for this is the split pots; played smartly, you will pick up your share of low-hand half-pots, which can be considerable in a game with several weak players (i.e., players drawing to second and third best low). The same weak players will usually help you build large pots for when you scoop (win both high and low, the greatest felling in any HiLo game).

Omaha High has a greater variance (swings between winning and losing sessions) than Hold Em because of the way the game is played; since everyone has 4 cards, everyone has the equivalent of 6 Hold Em hands. Imagine entering a Hold Em pot against 12, 18, or 24 opponents and that's what a typical hand of Omaha High is like.

Omaha High is a drawing game - winning with a bet on the flop or turn is not going to happen in a low-limit Omaha High game. One thing that happens in Omaga High that doesn't happen that often in Hold Em is 2-3 players hitting the flop hard. An example is one player with a made straight, a second player with a wrap draw to a bigger straight, and a third person with top set. Most likely none of these players is letting go until the river, betting, raising and reraising all the way. By the river, all 3 players have put a lot of money in, but only one is winning the pot. One or two sessions with several busted flush draws, outdrawn straights, etc. and you have a sizeable dent in your bankroll. The flip side of this is when you win a pot, it will usually not be a small pot. Omaha High can be a very profitable game if your bankroll can take the roller coaster ride.

There is a book by Ken Warren that is a decent introduction to both games and a book by Lou Kreiger on Omaha HiLo that I think is the best for someone starting out. I haven't read Ray Zee's book on HiLo games, but it is considered an excellent book. There are chapters in the new Super System 2 on Omaha HiLo and Stud HiLo that also have excellent material in them.

The best advice for anyone playing low-limit Omaha games is…always draw to the nuts!

[Ironman]

There was a thread just recently (in here and cross posted to the "Omaha/8") section that listed 5 or 6 casinos bringing Omaha 8.

It is a VERY profitable game. Primarily because people bring the aggressive HE mentality to the O8 game which will frequently get you in trouble.

Al is correct about the speed. Sometimes it can be painfully slow, AND the players can be very crabby, BUT the players can be VERY bad and VERY profitable.

I play O8 online and the previous poster is absolutely right about playing to the nuts.

But when playing at the casino it is a different game, you can play a lot looser and do well.

The best book out there is Ray Zee's book in Hi/Low Split poker.

Good luck,

Dave