A Few Misconceptions in Omaha

A Few Misconceptions in Omaha
By Rolf Slotboom

A while ago, I wrote the articles "A few misconceptions in poker" (1) and (2). I described some ideas, thoughts or statements that are considered to be "true" by a large group of players; ideas that seem OK, but are in my opinion not completely accurate or may even be flat out wrong. In this article I'll discuss some misconceptions regarding my favorite game, pot-limit Omaha, and two kinds of hands that seem quite easy to play here but are in fact misplayed a lot: straight draws and the underfull.

"I had an open-ended straight draw on the flop. I had to play".
An open-ended straight draw isn't always a hand to be thrilled about. If in hold'em you've got a seven in your hand and the board shows 986, there's no reason to get involved too much. Some other player may have the same straight draw, have a straight already or make a higher straight (with the QJ or J7 for example, in case a ten comes up, or the QT, if a jack falls).

In Omaha, when there is JT on the board and you've got Q9 you don't have an open-ended straight draw. The only outs that are relevant here are nut-outs. When the K comes up and you get any substantial action, you can be sure your Q9 is no good; that is, you might lose a lot if you make the hand you're drawing for, rather than win. The odds of making your hand if you are drawing to a straight are always worse than they seem, because of the possibility of making your hand and then having to split the pot with one of your opponents.

In Omaha an open-ended straight is by no means a premium draw. Your opponents may be in there with some kind of wraparound straight draw (that is, they've got the same draw you have plus some extra outs), so you might not be able to win the whole pot, even if you make the hand you're drawing for. Even worse, in Omaha flushes are all around: if on the river a flush is possible, it is likely to be out there, even if the flush has been back-doored. If in Omaha you have an open-ended straight draw on the flop but two of the flop cards are suited, don't invest too much money in your hand. Straight draws are vulnerable hands for the following reasons:

• Your opponents may have the same (or even better) straight draw.
  
• Your drawing odds are therefore not as good as they seem. (Are all your outs nut outs?)
  
• You might make your hand and still lose: a) the cards that makes your straight also makes somebody else a flush, b) the card that makes your straight creates a new (backdoor) flush draw or higher straight draw that might be completed on the river, c) you make your straight on the turn but the river completes the flush draw that has been possible from the flop on (or the board pairs and you lose to a full).
  

Does this mean you should never play an open-ender in Omaha? Of course not. It all depends. Just remember that in Omaha you want to play wraparound straight draws, preferably with some kind of (backdoor) flush potential. Open-enders give you eight outs maximum, and even if you make your hand it's by no means certain that the pot will be yours in the end.

"I have a full house. How can I pass?"
In limit Omaha, a small full house can sometimes cause you some problems. That is, if you're up against a bigger full you might lose quite a few bets. In pot-limit Omaha, you might lose your entire stack. If you get any action after you've bet your underfull, don't expect the chips to come your way. Just to be sure, the underfull is this: the board shows JJ6 and you have two sixes in your hand, rather than J6.

Now let's say this JJ6 is the flop in a pot-limit Omaha game. You're in early position (you're one of the blinds) with your sixes and there are three or four players behind you still to act. If you're playing a short stack, you've got no problems: you just bet all-in, one (or both) of the jacks will probably call your bet. If he hits one of his kickers, he wins; if he doesn't, he doesn't. If you (and your opponents) are playing a big stack, things are a little bit different. A lot of players come out betting and raising with their underfull on the flop and turn, and sometimes on the river as well, and quite often they get away with it.

The problem with this hand is you don't know whether your opponent has hit his kicker or not (assuming he doesn't have four of a kind. If you bet out on the flop and are called in two places, you know your hand is good at the moment. If you get only one caller, you may in fact be drawing dead). If you come out firing on the turn as well, when your opponent in fact has hit his kicker, the hand is going to cost you a lot of money. Now let's say he hasn't hit, but he calls your bet on the turn, and the river comes with yet another one of his possible kickers. How are you going to play your hand now? It should be clear by now the implied odds in this hand are with your opponent:

• When you bet on the turn or river and he hasn't improved, he might fold.
  
• When you check (or bet small) and he hasn't improved, he might make a big bluff at you and make you fold a winner.
  
• When you check (or bet) and he raises when in fact he has improved, you might decide he's bluffing, pay him off and lose a bundle.
  

Contrary to what most players do, I often don't bet my underfull on the flop, even in late position. If I bet, I'll only get called by someone with the third matching card (the jack, in this example), making the pot big when I don't know where I'm at. It's hard to create a big pot with the underfull and then win it when the money is deep (that is, when there's enough money for bets on the flop, turn and river).
Why not just check the hand down on the flop and the turn (and then maybe try to win some money on the river if you think your hand is still good)? A problem with this strategy is that the turn or river may make somebody else a higher underfull, but if he is a reasonable opponent, he won't be too thrilled about his hand when he gets a lot of action on the river, after the hand had been checked on the flop and the turn as well. (Another problem is someone may bluff you out of the pot on the turn because nobody bet the flop, but even then the harm done is relatively small, as there is not much money in the pot yet). There are, as always, exceptions, but in general don't put a lot of money into the pot when you flop a hand like this and the money is deep. Beware of the underfull!