Hello guys, I am an amateur hold'em player- I tend to enjoy limit more but I will play NL as well. I am interested in learning Omaha 8 as from what I have heard/seen it seems to be a game a lot of people play poorly and that can be exploited.

I ordered a few different books that should be delivered soon but I wanted to ask a few questions based on recent play, both my own and what I have observed.

Background, the game in question is actually a $4/$8 Kill 5-card Omaha 8 game spread at Pechanga. I have decided to play this form of Omaha because the competition is much softer at Pechanga than that at Oceans 11, which is the only other poker room within a reasonable distance to me. I expect that playing a tight, solid game should be enough to post a small win rate after a short amount of practice and reading/studying. I base this on what makes a good LHE game- 5 + players in most pots, (often I am the only one who folds pre flop.)

Enough background. My main question is how should the addition of a 5th hole-card affect strategy. Obviously, it gives every player ten hands to play as opposed to 6, but should that lead me to play tighter and throw decent 4 card hands away if the 5th card is a Jack (or other bad card)? Or should I ignore the fact that the card doesn't 'fit' with the rest of the hand and play the other cards based on their values?

Also, I threw away a couple hands pre flop that I was wondering if I was playing too tight.

AAJ98- No nut flush
A2 k98 No nut flush
AK QQT -Queen flush
JJ994.

That's it for now.
(Please tell me if my formatting is wrong, my post is too long. etc.)

Welcome to the forums, I play some Big O but not a lot

I think with extra card that an A2 absolutely needs some backup low help if hand is otherwise marginal. Think it was fine to fold that A298K w no nut flush

I probably would have seen the flop with AKQQT though, I love the ladies lol

Those other hands are good folds

JJ99 is not a good hand even in regular O8.

ive played PL big o and PLO8... bigo is def gonna be tighter hand selection. most likely 2 to 4 to the flop. Even in limit its still tighter hand selection. hands will be nuttier.

Whether a hand is "good" or not depends primarily on how much other players will pay off. But in general, when playing limit O8, you have to play a tighter range of hands than when playing PLO8. That's because the implied odds just aren't there in limit.

I would recommend you read Jeff Hwang's PLO book (where interestingly enough he covers limit O8 very well.) First of all, I don't really agree with you that a J is a bad card. "Bad cards" are context dependent anyway. For example 6,7,8,9 are considered the "bad" cards because by definition they can't scoop. (Not literally true, but best understood as a general rule.) For example, if you actually have 6789, then you can either
a) make the nut straight, which by definition puts a low on the board which you will almost never win, so you only get half the pot, or
b) if no low is possible then you make the bottom end of a straight, which tends to lose money

But in the context of a A2678 hand, it's a pretty damn good hand because now you can scoop or quarter someone on a 345 board. You want to play hands that at least have good potential to scoop, and if you do that you'll have a big long term advantage over people who include a lot of "half pot" or dominated hands in their range.

Now it's true that backup low is very important, but that is balanced by scoop potential. For example I'm playing both your A2K98 and AKQQT hands if I can get in cheap, because in the first case you're going to be happy with a flop like K76, and in the second there is always a high, but there's not always a low. Now this is contradictory to advice that tells you to play hands with great low potential, and that's great advice. But sometimes the pendulum can swing too far the other way and if you're folding hands as good as AKQQT, then you're probably taking things too far (again assuming you can get in with good odds.)

Also most of these starting hand examples are based on being in 2-way to 4-way pots. If you find yourself getting into a lot of 5-way to 8-way pots, then these "bad" hands can start to become playable again. Half of a 7-way pot is not a bad thing. If you'd play QJT9 in a 3-way PLO pot, then you can probably play it in a 7-way O8 pot too, as the payoff is the same (given the previous caveat about implied odds in limit). When they say this is not a good hand in O8, they're comparing apples to apples and assuming "all else equal".

Specifically with regard to 5 card Omaha, I play about the same percentage of hands I play in 4 card, but the hands tend to be better. This is true for everyone, of course. I play A3 less often, but I get dealt A2 more often, so it tends to balance. Obviously in 5 card the nuts is out there more often, but you also get the nuts more often.

On Thursdays, they run a "high hand" promotion and many pots are 7 handed (8 max tables), most often I am the only player not limping or calling the raise. I intend to loosen up my starting hand requirements as I get a better feel for the game. My thought is that with such a loose game I can do OK, even as a novice to the game, by playing pretty tight.

In LHE games, I tend to bet the flop almost any time I have a draw or a made hand as the tables. (it seems to stop anyone from making an aggressive move without a very strong hand the rest of the way). I've been betting similarly at the 5 card omaha/8 game and have a few questions I'd like some input on. Please assume all the pots are between 5-8 handed, MOST pots are un-raised aside from the occasional straddle/tilter. Also assume I am first up or the action has checked to me

Flop Kd 8d 3s

1. Should I bet ANY nut-flush draw here? Or check to the turn and evaluate there
2. Should I bet ANY ace-deuce naked, or should I check/call?
3. A hand like A23Kx (no flush draw)?
4. 88245- (BB hand)?
5. Should I bet A247x(naked low with backup)?

Also, should I be more inclined to bet on these situations if the flop was rainbow, and how much credit should I give my hand for having a backdoor low/flush draw?

Thanks for the input guys. It is very helpful.

Hey, welcome and glad you're giving O8 a shot, it's a great game. I'd recommend reading this well by abarber, he's a top omaha player and 10k horse champion who I think has a great approach to the game:

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/4...hlight=abarber

1. Should I bet ANY nut-flush draw here? Or check to the turn and evaluate there

No, you make the flush on a non paired board roughly 25% and most of the time a low comes too. slim chance of scooping. good you for you to get freerolled.


2. Should I bet ANY ace-deuce naked, or should I check/call?

No, calling naked Ace means you will at best get 1/2 the pot, typically fold with nothing but a low draw. Usually never bet but with a very loose table seeing a turn could sometimes be profitable.

3. A hand like A23Kx (no flush draw)?

Id play it like the immortal nuts........ unless it is multi way and someone appears strong. I'd usually bet like I have it but just call if I get raised. Your "x" is very important, if it is a 4 or a 5 your hand is very strong!!! great hand to 3/4 another A2 or scooping A4 with worse two pair


4. 88245- (BB hand)?

in a multi way pot you will likely only be getting 1/2 the pot at best, play cautiously, easier for someone to freeeroll you than for you to freeroll them.


5. Should I bet A247x(naked low with backup)?

No, calling naked Ace means you will at best get 1/2 the pot, typically fold with nothing but a low draw.

you should be playing tighter, always playing to scoop, and sometimes in some circumstances be willing to throw away the nut low draw with no high draw away on the turn. In this game the low gets quartered mush more than in the 4 card version.

Folding a2k98 can be ok situationally but will often be wrong, I think you are underestimating the strength of this hand