Quote:
Originally Posted by Omaha Chris
Best route is probably to come to an understanding of ABC play by reading the books, and gradually "unlearn" ABC through playing.
Perhaps.
I think it's important to not learn anything that's incorrect or misleading.
My standard recommendation to those who haven't played much Omaha-8 is twofold.
(1) - the second half (Omaha-8 half) of Ray Zee's book High Low Split Poker
(2) - Mark Gregorich's O8 chapter in Super System 2
Zee's book is the classic and, so far as I know, is error free. The O8 chapter in Super System 2 is also error free, so far as I know. Neither book is misleading.
You have to keep in mind that you need to adapt your game to your game venue, game type, game size and your opponents. The game is Omaha-8, but you still have to "play good poker" to be long term successful.
By "game venue" I mean on-line as opposed to brick-and-mortar casino or private home game. The play and player types you encounter, although overlapping to some extent are, in the main, substantially different. On-line you encounter some players who are multi-tabling. A normal individual could not tolerate folding starting hands in a brick-and-mortar casino game or private home game to the extent that some on-line players who are multi-tabling fold starting hands. And you'd stand out as a nit like a sore thumb if you played as tightly in a brick and mortar casino game as some on-line players.
By "game type" I mean fixed-limit, pot-limit, and no-limit. I believe the optimal way to play is different for all three types.
By "game size" I mean two things.
• First, although the stakes you play shouldn't, in theory, affect optimal play, in actual real life situations, they do. It's a lot easier to bluff when losing is going to sting your opponent than when you're playing for matchsticks or pennies.
• Second, the play at a ten handed table is enormously different than the play at a heads-up table. At a six-max table, very common on-line, but almost non-existent in a brick-and-mortar casino, there is not a big difference between what's good as a starting hand compared to a nine-handed table. (But the difference between on-line play and brick-and-mortar casino play is substantial).
And in any case, I believe how best to play depends on the specific opponent(s) you encounter.
If you read the two book sections I've recommended, and then get some experience, you'll know the game well enough to sort out what is helpful from what might be misleading in the other Omaha-8 books you see on bookshelves.
But be careful! I used to read Cappelletti and then go out and lose a few hundred bucks trying something that looked good in print, probably worked well for Mike and some others, but simply was a disaster for me. Even so, I think probably my own game has incorporated some of Mike's ideas (but modified to fit my own style of play and my own opponents).
Note that my style of play for Omaha-8 is quite different from my style of play for Texas hold 'em. And my style of play in a no-limit game is quite different than my style of play in a fixed-limit game. (Since I don't play much on-line, I only rarely encounter a pot-limit table).
In my humble opinion, if you are new to the game, the two books sections I have recommended will school you on the fundamentals of Omaha-8 play and then you have to "play good poker" to be successful.
Buzz