In the last article we stated that the “basic strategy” of high Omaha could be thought of as a three step process, namely:

Step One is evaluating your hand before the flop. . . [see page 1]

Step Two, upon seeing the flop, is to decide whether or not to get further involved. This is frequently the most difficult and complicated decision in all Omaha. Your odds of hitting various combinations of “comes” frequently involves complex computations and often includes making “human” judgements as to the likelihood of raises.

Step Three is to decide whether you still belong in the pot for the double-sized bets after fourth street and fifth street (last card). . . [see page 1]

Step One, basic strategy before-the-flop, was discussed in some detail in the last article. Let us now turn our attention to Step Two, what most experts consider to be the toughest aspect of Omaha, namely, evaluating your hand with the flop. First, let us list the obvious good flop hits in descending order:

Locks - straight flush or quads (these happen mainly in
the movies or to somebody else)

Hidden set - trips, one flop card matches your pair in hand

Board set - trips, you have a card that matches the pair in
the flop

Flush - you hold 1st, 2nd, or 3rd highest two suited cards that match 2 or 3 of that suit in the flop

Straight - you hold two (or more) proximate cards that work
with 2 or 3 cards in flop to make a straight or
one or more good straight comes

High two pair - play aggressively (if there is a reasonable
chance that they might hold up and win the pot)

High and low two pair - play very aggressively if conditions
seem favorable, or fold

Basic strategy dictates that in an EARLY position (where you have less opportunity to employ skill and there might be raises), you should only bet or call if you have one of the above (unless there is a lot of money in the pot to protect, like when the pot is capped before the flop). Often you will drop one of the above because a higher threat is present (eg. avoid playing flush or straight comes when there is a pair in the flop). Note that each of the above involves TWO or more cards in the flop working with your hand. Note also that we did not even mention the possibility of pushing the high pair. Omaha is NOT like holdem.

Because everyone has four cards, in an EARLY position you always assume the worst and tend to play conservatively. Murphy’s Law applied to Omaha is that somebody hits any given flop (for example, if there is a pair on board, somebody matches it). Again, Omaha is NOT like holdem.

In LATE positions you should be more opportunistic. Please note that there is a significant difference between opportunistic and stupid. This is where much of the skill in Omaha comes into play. In late positions there are at least two situations you should look for.

First, if a single bet comes around to you, and there is no one in back of you who is likely to raise, you might venture a call any time the pot odds justify your particular longshot (the classic example is drawing to an inside straight). In Omaha your odds going in to fourth street are almost always better than you think, because with four cards (presumably good cards, see Step One) in your hand, seeing the fourth street turn frequently presents opportunities which you might not have foreseen (depending of course on how well you know Omaha).

The second situation to look for is the classic checked-around-to-you situation, that heats the blood of all natural-born poker players. Just the fact that no one has taken the opportunity to bet means something. What it means depends a lot on the character of the game you are playing in. But without going into all the various bluff possibilities, let us look solely at value betting. If you have as much as the high pair or any decent come, you can justify betting ON VALUES simply by noting that everyone will fold some percentage of the time. Or someone with a come hand may call and not draw. If you do not bet, everyone gets a free card, and both your odds of winning and expected value in the pot go way down. If you are the timid type, perhaps you should think of it as being much more scary NOT to bet than to bet.

Generally, in Omaha you should be folding upon seeing the flop about two thirds of the time. If you are getting involved after the flop as much as half of the time, you are probably chasing too much and losing money. On the other hand, note that the one third of the time that you should be getting involved (this assumes that you are seeing the flop with only good hands) includes some rather borderline “combination hands” that only experts or fish appreciate the value of.

Part of the expert’s edge is having advance knowledge of some of the very complex holdings unique to Omaha (see series of three Card Player articles starting on page 19). Many tightish medium players fold hands that are clearly good percentage investments. Of course, the real skill is to understand the various factors involved and to be able to stay on top of the percentages.

The best SIMPLE rule-of-thumb advice I can offer is this. You might think of each “indirect” two-card prospect (that is, where you need a good card on both 4th and 5th street to complete a flush or straight) as approximately a four percent equity (admittedly an estimate). If these “indirect” potentials, when added to your other (”direct” single card) prospects, yield an adequate percentage of wins compared to the dollars in the pot, you might venture a loose call - preferably in a later seat - if you judge that a raise is unlikely. If a bad fourth street card turns, you simply fold your half-bet investment. But if it is a good card, then you have truly earned the honor of being officially sucked in for the infamous Omaha last card roulette.

Thus the essence of after-the-flop basic strategy is to get further involved only with good percentage hands. Once you do make the key decision to get further involved, tactics then come into play, especially in games where the after-the-flop bet limit is half the final two rounds bet limit. Depending on position and other conditions it might be advisable to raise, even with some not-so-great hands. Raises in early positions tend to reduce competition. Raises in later seats tend to get it checked around to you next time (which might save fourth-round maximum bet money if you miss). And sometimes they all fold your raise.

Just remember, when someone else is betting the flop, that Omaha is the game where the last card changes the winner more than any other form of poker. Many players, who are good at other forms of poker have to get used to the fact that a relatively large percentage of their wins will come from chasing. Quite frequently the driver (the lead bettor) is actually a vast underdog to the various chasers. So maybe it is not so bad to be a chaser. So get with it, start playing those “combination” hands, jump on the fishwagon, and become the screwor instead of the screwee! It is mainly a matter of evaluation and keeping the percentages on your side.