5 tips to improve your Omaha 8 or better game

•1.       Tight is right

When it comes to Omaha 8 patience almost always wins the day. This holds true when you are playing in what I would deem a “good” Omaha 8 game; one on which 5 players see the flop, this includes the blinds, for one or two bets. A decent game will have 1 less player, and anything less than that you should start to look for another game.

• 2. In raising wars YOU should be one of the people raising

When two players are in a raising war you need to be certain that you are not caught in the middle. If your hand isn’t worthy of being one of the hands raising, you should probably get out of the pot. Do you really want to put in 4-bets on the flop and turn with your bare nut-low draw, to possibly win ¼ of the pot?

•3.       The difference between A3 and 23

The two hands look very similar -especially to players who follow start with a low hand rule-since each hand needs one specific card to have a shot at making the nut-low (a 2 for A3, and an Ace for the 23 hand). But that is where the similarities ends: When you look at the imperfect flops that you will still be playing you’ll see why A3 is such a superior hand to 23.

Suppose you hold A38Q and the flop is perfect, 258. In this case you have the nut low and top-pair to go with it, not to mention your wheel draw.

Now, suppose you have238Q and the flop is A58. Well in this case you have the nut low, but now you have second pair.

Think of all the different possibilities these differences present.

•4.       You are playing for the scoop

I always equate Omaha 8 to digging a hole: All of those nut-low hands where you split the pot are just you digging with a shovel until the backhoe shows up -the backhoe in this case is a scoop! A scoop in Omaha 8 doesn’t double what you would win; it often triples what you win in a hand, sometimes more!

Here’s how it works: If 4 players each contribute $50 to the pot, and you split the pot, you have profited $50, since the first $50 belonged to you anyway. Now, if you scoop that same pot you have profited $150! Now, when you are in a three-handed pot, splitting the pot is actually counterproductive, since you profit very little - if everyone again contributes $50 you have wagered $50 to win $25! But scooping is worth $100.

In Omaha 8, you need to scoop to make a good profit.

•5.       Never chase runner-runner low

My last tip is simple: NEVER CHASE RUNNER-RUNNER LOW! When you have no high potential whatsoever, the only time this is ok is when five players capped the pot pre-flop and it’s only a single bet to call on the flop, if you have something like A23x and the flop is 49K. If you don’t have the top three low cards, don’t even think about chasing runner-runner low, and the pot better be laying you tremendous odds to chase!