Most people have the wrong approach to this game. First and foremost, bluffing is seldom done in Omaha 8, except on minute pots or with the 4 card hand (more on that later). The name of the game is not ‘scooping pots’ – it is a concept known as the ‘3/4 scoop’ (the high and half the low.) This game boils down to one thing only - knowing how to bet the hand. Knowing the best starting hands is definitely a must, but betting makes you the money.

Pairs

The best Omaha Pot Limit 8 hands contain no pairs. I read posts where people try taking the pot for peanuts, while having decent draws. This is wrong. Someone recently mentioned a hand where he held A,2,4,J with a ‘dry Ace’ (meaning lone Ace without the flush draw). The flop came 3,5,10 (two were spades). The person stated he held the “dry Ace of spades”. He  proceeded to pot the hand and got one caller.

Analyze this hand and the way the betting should play out. You, the bettor, potted this hand on the flop. Why? It is a decent hand, but definitely no monster. Yet it has many possibilities including an uncounterfeitable low and possible scoop. Once low hits, the bettor is assured a piece of the pot with a possibility of a scoop. The pot bettor had position as he was the last to act. This hand calls for multiple action. You don't need the pot too big in case an opponent is planning on check-raising with a set which would force you into a big bet call – the probable result would be isolation with this person. Is this something you think would be beneficial for you with this hand? Far better to have several players in with you and reduce the gamble.

The correct play for this hand would be a small bet on the flop. Possibly as small as possible to insure all parties call. Does it hurt to have everyone call you in this hand? Definitely not, as you have an above average hand with which to attack. By potting the hand on the flop, how much money can you make? All you would take down are the opening rounds of bets, which isn't much considering you did receive a pretty fair flop for your holdings. The proper bet for this hand on the flop would be approximately the same amount as the opening bet - the more the merrier, and if you get quartered, a smaller loss for you.

Betting the smaller amount makes others take shots, as they think they are getting pot value. They are wrong - they may get it from others, but not from you. You control the hand at this point, especially with position.

The next card was a Q. The betting would likely be passed around to you again. What do you do now? The same thing you did with the last card, bet a small amount again and hope all the players call. The best card you can catch is an A, and if you do, you come out betting enough to warrant a nice win. You don't have the nut for high but you do have the nuts for low and the 2nd nuts for high. Milk these people and take something more than just the initial opening bets.

What would happen if instead of the Q an 8 came on the turn? Now you would be sitting with the nut low with a possibility of scooping by making a wheel. Your hand is very good but nothing special. Again you send out a bet, slightly larger this time as you know you are ensured a piece of this pot. Let people draw, and don't commit yourself into a situation where you are one-on-one. This is not a hand that warrants this. Give everyone a chance to make something and perhaps your low will improve and you may scoop. You are also adding more money to the pot and leaving yourself far less vulnerable to someone trying to slow play or isolate you. Who knows, you may also split a decent pot.

What you want in this game is nut high, but this usually doesn't make you as much money as you think. Flushes look good enough but once the 3 flush hits the board most action comes to a crawl. The same can be said if a pair hits the board. The idea is to 3/4 the opposition. The players who are able to do this and who understand this concept are among those who dominate this game.

The ‘6’

The 6 seems like a useless card to most of you. In Pot Limit Omaha 8 it is a very important card to hold when playing the 3/4 concept. Hands containing 7's,8's,9's are basically useless as you are playing one less card than your opposition. People that play the 3/4 concept know the best starting hands contain NO PAIRS. Pairs (in your hand) are fundamentally useless in this game no matter what any book tells you – the exception being Aces (in certain cases). Math dictates you will make ‘this much with this’, but the all important play of the hand is not taken into account.

Starting hands you should relish include four cards to a 6 low, giving the highest priority to the ones containing A, or 2,3. These are the hands that allow for the making of big pots, and they let you 3/4 many hands. Many combinations of wheels exist, with the worst combinations being the ones that have Aces in them. Three card wheel boards with an Ace will either get you all or half if this is the nut high. You have been taught to attack this game from the A,2 perspective. What you weren't taught is that this is not the best concept for Pot Limit.

Having three wheel cards on the board is not an easy thing. Calling an opening bet with four cards to a 6 is not an expensive proposition. It is very easy to get rid of the hand if your board doesn't come. Consider a hand with A,3,5,6. Your key goal from the opening is to hit a 2. If you don't, what do you lose except your initial opening bet? When you hit your key card or cards you are in for a treat. If the board comes 2,4,K, you are in business - if the wheel does get there, you have ‘nut nut’. (As an exercise, grab a bunch of cards and take combinations of these and see what kinds of hands develop when you hit your key card. This is basically the same premise as playing an A,Q in Hold’em. In most of these hands you also have a secondary card to hit. With the A,3,5,6 the secondary card is the 4. Now stick two more low cards out on the board and see what your holdings will be.) Easy to get rid of the hand for a small loss, but when you do hit, you capture the hand or 3/4 the pot, giving you a tidy profit from a minimum investment.

Obviously Ace flushes are good and double flush hands better. But flushes don't make you money in this game. You want your opponent’s whole stack, and many players will lay down at the sight of 3 flush cards. This is why the game should be approached from a low aspect. I prefer having four to a 6 than I do having 4 to a wheel. Remember when wheels come on the board, unless an A is on the board, the wheel will make for at least a six high straight possibility. It kills the hands containing A,2. So here we have you playing A,2,3, when realistically at best you will only win half of the pot. This is what having the 6 in the hand adds to the value in Pot Limit. People don't lay down ‘nut lows’ and if they do they will lose in the end anyway. Good players will fool them before long into believing they have a hand.

The High Approach

High hands are playable in this game. The ones you imagine as being the best are probably not. Key high starting hands include any combination of 40 or 41 with no pairs (A=11, face=10). Meaning K,Q,J,10 or any of three of these cards with an A. Actually the Ace can be detrimental as the key cards to these hands are the 9 and another face card. This hand is easy to call with and easy to get rid of without a sizable loss. If two face cards flop, you can be in decent shape and can re-evaluate. Remember the key card is a 9 for it allows K high straights to be made without lows. When playing hands like this for high, you also develop other outs while having the nuts. There are many combinations in this game - in Pot Limit Omaha 8 patience is a key. The betting is the lock. Knowing how and how much to bet is invaluable.

Bluffing

Bluffing is basically nonexistent in this game, unless winning a few opening bets is called bluffing. People trap and slow play. The style I am talking about allows you to keep control of the pot. Potting  comes when you flop small nut full houses early and don't have better draws. Potting is done when you make the nuts both ways and want to preserve the hand both ways. Omaha 8 is not a bluffing game and small bets made by good players are called sweeteners as they are so small it invites people who have little or no chance to put money into pots. This negates loses you may incur from being quartered and keeps pots where you want them. Having a low with no high is not really desirable, though it can be if you play well and you know (by analyzing the betting) you have the nut.

As in almost all things there is an exception to the no-bluffing rule. One certain hand allows bluffing. It is a rare hand in the fact all four cards play and a rare situation when it occurs. Most don't realize the strength of this hand or what it takes to call it. Consider a board that comes A,9,7,Q,2 with no flush possibilities. Put your holdings on A,2,4,6. Looking at this hand in a multiple way pot, the hand doesn't look good. But, this is the premiere bluffing type of hand for this game. Potting this hand almost assures you of half the pot or the whole pot. (In fact, having someone bet into me while I was holding a hand like this would make me pot.) You are holding a very difficult hand for a single person to beat, because he must play all 4 cards in his hand. Provided two people don't hold the nuts each way, your hand is very strong. It would probably take two people calling the pot to beat you. You hold a rare hand in the fact all four cards play. Most people are not aware of these types of hands and think they are weak. When you think about this hand you realize that when you raise the max or pot this hand, you force people to make a decision.

This is worth repeating - Three Aces are the nuts for high and 3,4 the nuts for low. Many people may want to slow the action down with two pair or a number two low in order to get a piece of the pot. Again, realize a person must use ALL FOUR cards to beat your hand. This is not an easy thing to do. Having one caller allows you to get half the pot and most will throw numbers two or three away. This is the best bluff available in Omaha, for it normally takes two callers holding the nuts each way to beat you. From the betting you would have realized this was not the case, thus the play is very profitable.

As I have stated before betting is the key, and most player’s games are flawed because they lack knowledge of how to bet. This need not be a ‘gambling game’ as the hands I have described will put you into ideal positions. Hands like A,A, 4,J double-suited may seem very nice, but there is no real need to get involved with these hands if you don't know how to bet correctly. Hands such as A,2 7,J double-suited are very susceptible to fluctuations. Pot Limit Omaha 8 is the ‘ultimate grind game’. It is hard to really get stuck in these games if you play well. Normally it takes double counterfeits to make you a big loser. These are very rare but can't be avoided.

The main reason many people prefer Omaha is they like the action. All these cards allow for the possibility of some kind of draw. With the starting hands I have suggested, many of your flops will allow for winning percentages well above 50%. Pot Limit is far different than Limit, and like hands are not valued the same. Playing well more than compensates for people playing bad starting hands. If you want to win it is a very boring game. If you want to gamble go right ahead. I don't like my percentage in making a flush even if I have 3 other people in the pot. Give me a 'wrap around’ nut low with the bicycle, 6 high straight possibility. This is the type of gamble I prefer.

Russ G