poker players, question for you

[lazarus]

Do you agree that Omaha, especially Omaha Hi/Lo, is the spawn of Satan, and should be banned from our reality?

What a messed up game. 7 Card Stud is cool, and Hold'em is great, but Omaha is just whacked.

[theoceansnerves]

1. i've only watched

people play omaha hi/lo because the casino doesn't really have many tables dedicated to it. but the idea of a low (qualifying) hand winning part of the pot is very intriguing. although i could also see it being very frustrating.

[lazarus]

2. hi/lo is a fun party variant

and I've played 7 card stud in a hi/lo variant, and won some damned good money at it.

But Omaha itself is just silliness. The very structure of the game is just bizarre.

One day soon, I'll have my stake built back up, and I'll be able to hit the casinos again. Sucks to be broke and live within 15 minutes of three casinos. Sigh.

[St. Jarvitude]

5. You probably find it silly because you're thinking like it's Hold'em

I used to play my Omaha hands like they were two HE hands. Very, very bad idea. The two games can be compared no more than Stud and Hold'em.

If you learn how to play Pot Limit Omaha really well, you can make lots and lots of money from fish who are pretty good Texas Hold'em players but totally suck at Omaha because they think like that.

[lazarus]

6. yeah, probably

It's more different that HE and Stud, though. I can flip back and forth from HE and Stud with just a hand or two of mucking to get my mindset flipped. But Omaha is so foreign, it's like it's not even poker.

Maybe that's just me, though. I prefer to do my fishing in familiar waters. :D

[St. Jarvitude]

3. Hi/Lo is weird.

Std. Omaha (the must use 2 from the hole + 3 from the board, not the "use any of the 9" crappy version) is a great game. It's especially great if you're skilled - many decent Holdem players will come to Omaha to try it out and will be fish because Omaha is a very, very, very different game where straights and flushes win out 65% of the pots and sets/two pair 20% of the time.

[lazarus]

4. it's just too gimmicky for me

9 cards total, having to pick two from the hole, etc.

I prefer more classic versions, to be honest. Omaha feels like a home game gone wild. I keep expecting the dealer to say one-eyed Jacks are wild or something like that.

[uhhuh]

7. Omaha hi/lo is great.

You just have to resist playing hands that might seem good too often.

It is imperative to opt for strong high hands even if you have a decent low.
At a full table, if there is a low, there is almost always someone who has the best low, often there is more than one, so you must resist overplaying a good low hand. Since most of the time there is only one high winner, it is better to focus on the high end, although having low backup really does help a lot.
Watch out when you have a straight or flush when the board pairs, full houses are way too common, and in lower limit games, there are lots of people who will see every card if they think they have any shot.
The biggest secret is to play fewer hands, and be very aware of what the board shows.