how is limit Omaha-hi as a game?

[mosta]

I've dabbled in some low limit, both live and online, limit Omaha high, just for variation and because some have said it is an especially easy game to beat. I didn't record my PNL for the little I played and it wouldn't be enough hands to tell me much anyway, but I did play enough to develop some feel for the game. But there's a very loose passive 15-30 game I have access to now and I think I'm going to try it out--seems like an average of 6-8 players, if not more, to the flop, unraised. The problem is that I've seen very widely variant opinions on the beatability of this game. Some have posted here that with exceptional patience, to play tight enough, it is the easiest and least volatile game to beat in poker. Others have called it the poker equivalent of tiddly winks, by which I think they meant that in a loose game there's no way to get enough edge to consistently expect significantly more than a random share of pots.

Informed opinions anyone? Good game? (leaving aside the issue of whether or not I'm a decent player) Maybe I should have made a poll...

[twankerr]

From my experience it can be decieiving to new players. Most players figure you can play more marginal hands than in regular hold 'em.

this however is not the case in omaha for beginners. their post-flop selection is no good so they chase the 2nd or 3rd nuts to teh river. if you play only strong hands and make sure you are drawing to the basic nuts, then you should be fine. by that i mean, dont chase a queen high flush on a suited board when you are getting raised. one huge thing is that when the board pairs, there is a full house ALOT.

[Buzz]

Like any poker game, how easy Omaha-high is to beat will always seem to depend on how good your particular opponents are, relative to you. I'd expect some tables to be easy to beat and I'd expect other tables to be tough to beat.

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seems like an average of 6-8 players, if not more, to the flop, unraised.

[/ QUOTE ]

Juicy. However, be aware that Omaha games that are loose and passive before the flop often become tight and aggressive after the flop.

For the game you're describing, I think you want all your cards working together (1) so as to have a better chance of catching a fit with the flop, and also (2) so as to have re-draws to better hands. You also prefer higher cards to lower cards, for example,
J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] to T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

or J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], to T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (none of those four hands is generally a good starting hand in Omaha-8, but all four of them are very playable starting hands in the Omaha-high game you are describing, IMHO. You also (obviously) like your hands to be double suited or at least suited, and suited aces (obviously) are very nice.

Good luck.

Buzz

[Iceman]

[ QUOTE ]
I've dabbled in some low limit, both live and online, limit Omaha high, just for variation and because some have said it is an especially easy game to beat. I didn't record my PNL for the little I played and it wouldn't be enough hands to tell me much anyway, but I did play enough to develop some feel for the game. But there's a very loose passive 15-30 game I have access to now and I think I'm going to try it out--seems like an average of 6-8 players, if not more, to the flop, unraised. The problem is that I've seen very widely variant opinions on the beatability of this game. Some have posted here that with exceptional patience, to play tight enough, it is the easiest and least volatile game to beat in poker. Others have called it the poker equivalent of tiddly winks, by which I think they meant that in a loose game there's no way to get enough edge to consistently expect significantly more than a random share of pots.

Informed opinions anyone? Good game? (leaving aside the issue of whether or not I'm a decent player) Maybe I should have made a poll...

[/ QUOTE ]

If the players are bad, it's easy to beat for a large amount of money, but the variance is very high.

If the players aren't horrible then it's usually not profitable at all, no matter how well you play. There's really very little to limit Omaha high - hand selection is 90% of the game. If you're familiar with PL Omaha high, middle straight runs and non-nut redraws are much weaker in limit, while suited aces and high pairs are much more valuable in limit.

[Beavis68]

I hate this game amoung passive weak players. You will get rivered continuously.

It is boring and frustrating, at least with 8/b, you know when you have the low locked up, but in High-only, almost any flopped hand is vulnerable.

I havent figured out yet if I just need to play ultra-tight, and make sure I have back-up, or just roll with it.

I like PLO and limit 8/b.

[bygmesterf]

[ QUOTE ]

Informed opinions anyone? Good game? (leaving aside the issue of whether or not I'm a decent player) Maybe I should have made a poll...

[/ QUOTE ]

I must be the only person on 2+2 who likes Omaha Hi. I think its a good game to play against weaker players, you just need to practice basic hand selection, and be willing to gamble. Unlike PLO, you can't make big mistakes or get taken for your entire stack, so Omaha is more of a game where you keep cranking your advantage.

Like razz there is room for subtle and sophisticated play in Omaha, but its not immediatly obvious above the basic strategy. I will mention one very big flaw that most people have which is not raising enough preflop, with good hands when many people are in preflop.

[Beavis68]

Yeah, I tried raising a lot on party, and everyone left the table.

[PlayerA]

I think that it depends on how well players play post-flop. The problem with loose passive omaha hi is that you can have post flop situations where several players have correct odds to draw and are not making FTOP mistakes to chase (for example, wrap straight draw vs. nut flush draw vs. set). You have to have bad players that will contribute with their weak draws and non-nut hands.