Joined: Oct '09
Location: Spain
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 2851
OK. I read a reply by Kristan in some post that Omaha is the way to go. I´ve been hearing that more lately, dozn likes it as well, and I have a couple of questions:
What kind of Omaha is best to start with? (I know absolutely nothing about it, and there seem to be a LOT of variations)
How best to learn? (sites I can find myself) Where best to play? What limits to play? (How is the varience in Omaha?) Bankroll advice.
This is just a start to get me going in the right direction without losing a lot of time with trial and error. So I need some tips from regular Omaha players.
Let´s hear it, and Thanks in advance for any sound advice for the novice.
Joined: May '08
Location: Germany
Age: 59 (M)
Posts: 6787
If you are used to NL Hold'em, PLO is the best start for Omaha. All the bigger sites have it. Traffic at some smaller sites/rooms may be low. Action for example has Omaha tables, but no one is playing. Variance is higher than in Hold'em, so double your buy-ins for a stake.
Joined: Mar '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 44 (M)
Posts: 6714
Hmmm not played Omaha in a while now, love the game. OK some quick fire answers. Best to start with Omaha High pot limit (cap if you can find them)
To learn go play some free chip games, and yes thay play just as bad as cash players...you will pick it up quick. (just do a google on starting hands) Best to play on the bigger sites, omaha gets little action on small sites so hard to pick a table. Varience....ohhhhhh that is what Omaha should have been called...its high. For your bankroll play as low as you can untill you get a grip and start winning, then play half of what you would play for NLHM. I got some stuff on my old comp, might fire it up later and drag off some info for you.
well, well, well, welcome to the dark side of poker OMAHA, plenty of badbeats and very big down swings, warning this game is not for the faint hearted
when i play omaha i usally have at least 40 buyings for the level im playing at due to the fact of variance , but you can go in at alot less if you are a experience player, a ipoker site is a good site for low omaha stakes starting at 1c but like partypoker it like 10c/25c, full tilt has alot of low stakes too,
there is also omaha high and low, which i like playing for the high and low hands the pots at this game are massive due to most pots get split which can easy gain you plenty of points to clear a bonus, players with ace 2 tend to over play there hands thinking there guaranteed to win the low hand but they first need at least 3 cards lower than 9 to get this......
so i suggest playin a ipoker skin 1c/2c , just so you get to know the game better b4 moving to a top site for bigger money, tell us how your getting on and what you decide my friend
Joined: Feb '10
Location: Finland
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 1248
Dont have time to write longer atm, going out, but if you want to try it out, then id suggest fixed limit. Variance is huge and if you start with plo tables then you might lose br before you ever learned something. Also you could try cap limit
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 2387
Definitely a lot more variance and bad beats in Omaha. I think fixed limit is also a good idea to get a feel for the game, and a few websites give some decent strategy on starting hands and other beginner info. GL!
Joined: Oct '09
Location: Spain
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 2851
Thanks for all the advice!
I must say I thought it was a game that rlies more on skil than luck, but when I see that everyone says the varience is a lot higher than in Holdem....hmmm Not what I was looking for really.
But still, it looks like a fun game (the little I´ve seen of it), so try it I definitely will. Definitely in January, when I´ll have a lot more time to play.
I was just wondering why Omaha can be seen as "profitable" if the varience is higher?
Profitable and varience don´t really seem compatible to me, or am I missing something crucial?
lol,, all good advice from the exsperts as some will remember I play hi/low omaha to my cost , I dont have a clue how to play and happen on the table only by mistake like the other night buying into a 22$ stg on party , well I was typsy and didnt have the filters on what can you say,lol,,anyway I might just google the starting hands and read up on some strategy as it seems to be gaining in popularity
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 2387
The greater variance just means that you will need a bankroll with more buy-ins to handle the ups and downs without busting out or quickly going down a level in terms of blinds. The hardest part for me when I play Omaha is exactly this, the variance. The number of times you will be tops on the flop and then backslide and lose with the turn and/or river is far greater than in HE, and often your opponent will draw out on you with cards that didn't even figure in the flop. Recent example, I flop trip aces, my opponent flops trip queens, we keep reraising each other until all-in, runner runner flush for him. Happens a lot in Omaha!
Joined: Feb '08
Location: Ireland
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 638
i play omaha hl and just started back again playing it in cash as i find it great for getting points and rakeback ..... moved 20euro from one site to another where i get a form of rackeback and so far in 4 days i have turned it into 45euro playing 1c 2c omaha h/l and a bit of 2c 4c plus due over $9 in rackeback .... (my account is in euro but games are in $ )
Tried playing nlh but found it was way way slower getting the points at these low limits ...as in nlh someone raises generally only one caller and if you not in pot no points ... in omaha hl half the table calls and usually a all in by river and if you fold on flop still get the points.
easy game lots of action just have to get used to reading players and deciding whos going for the high whos going for the low and then which person your beating ... or if you loosing to both get out will stick to these limits till i get close to the 100 euro mark and then try 5c 10c ... only downside not many on site play omaha hl so can be hard to get a table
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Poland
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 1189
Posted by bless9: Today I played three hands, and made really fast win, I went to table with 17$ and left with 100$ just two minutes later.
It's your whole bankroll? If yes it's good bankrollmanagement Anyway there is a lot of good video on dueces cracked , CR , or even when you google strategy.... Even on small stakes. It's more profitable because bad players go AI with even worser hands. But most of the time you're 60/40 even vs bad hands that's why swings are higher. Anyway I read if you really want to play PLO you need like 80BI (depends on the tables) because swing 10BI in 1 session it's kinda normal.
Joined: Oct '09
Location: Spain
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 2851
More interset in the game than I would have thought.
Thanks for all the advice!
@mahdrof Thanks also for the varience example, although varience isn´t exactly what I´m looking for. Still seems like an interesting game, so I´ll put a small bankroll aside to give it a try in January.
@ZmxPowah I´ll have a look on Google for some of those Deuces Cracked videos. I´ve seen some of them for SnG´s, they´re pretty good.
Joined: Dec '07
Location: Australia
Age: 45 (M)
Posts: 186
love omaha - playing both hi and h/l, but mostly plo hi... best way to make money in poker imho
as for the advice - if you're just starting out, don't stress too much if you get outdrawn or bad-beaten - it happens often at low limits... as it was said before - omaha is "swingy"
