Most poker players think they prefer active games, that is, looser (as opposed to tighter), with a lot of betting and bigger pots. Whereas these active games are certainly more interesting (fun?) and have greater potential for big wins, the more dull passive games generally afford a professional high Omaha player a greater percentage of winning sessions, and, if you will forgive the expression, provide greater job security. (more…)

I just spent several interesting hours playing Omaha and hold’em poker in a friend’s basement. But there were no other human players in the room. I was playing with the two prototype models of my new poker slot machines, which are called Cappelletti’s Omaha Poker Challenge and the Holdem Poker Challenge. So here is a preview of coming distractions. (more…)

At high four card Omaha, raising before the flop strategy is much more complicated than at holdem. There are a number of good hand situations where it is better not to raise. And there are a number of medium good hand situations where raising before the flop is highly recommended. Generally, raising before the flop tends to tighten up initial calling and loosen up the rest of the game. (more…)

What is the optimum strategy regarding what you should have to call with before the flop in four-card Omaha? The best answer is “it all depends”. It really does not depend on the best theoretical answer to this question, ie. whatever your favorite Omaha authority recommends. “Book advice”, which may well be quite correct for general situations, is not always optimal for specific situations. (more…)

You enter a casino, walk up to the poker desk, and one of two things happen. Either you are blessed with an immediate choice of available seats in two or more games, or, more frequently, there is only one seat available to you - now or after waiting awhile. In the second situation you usually take the available seat, even if you do not particularly like the game, rather than sitting around until your name is called for a “better” seat. (more…)

In order to be a consistant winner at Omaha or any form of poker, probably the most important decision that you make is what game you choose to play in. This subject is discussed to some extent in my book. Here are some recent additional thoughts. (more…)

The point count system for evaluating four-card Omaha hands which I introduced in 1988 has required surprizingly few modifications over the years. However some recent studies have indicated that high and medium pairs (in four-card starting hands) should receive slightly higher point values than previously given. (more…)

Over the past two years, I have received numerous requests for clarification of various aspects of my point count system for evaluating four card Omaha hands. Most of these requests were from “computer types” who were attempting to use my point count in computer studies, (more…)

In the last issue we talked about the “chip-up frebee“, just before a “chip-up” round, where you should call even with a junk hand because it costs you nothing. Tournament conditions sometimes create other opportunities where good dollar sense suggests actions that vary from the usual. (more…)

In poker tournaments where there is a “chip-up” process, there is also what I call the “chip-up freebee” for those players aware of it. In most poker tournaments the limits and blinds approximately double each round of play (timed periods), thereby neccessitating the frequent introduction of higher value chips, and the retirement from play of the lower value chips. (more…)