Winning money on a consistent basis in Omaha High games is very easy just as long as you don’t make all the common mistakes. This is not at all dissimilar to other games where skill is a major component in deciding the results. You should understand that the majority of the money you will make in Omaha High will be derived from the fact that inexperienced players will be making tons of costly mistakes which you in turn profit from. Most players at the Omaha poker tables are rookies that are just click happy and doing stuff without much thought going into it. This is because as relative novices to the game, they haven’t many played many hands of Omaha.

Some quickly develop an interest in playing Omaha poker and stick with the game. But like any form of the game, they fall prey to better players also known as the “sharks” in Omaha poker games, which take full advantage of their leaks. As is often the case, usually after losing a decent part of their bankroll, they will go back to the poker game they feel they have a better handle over. However, players who are ambitious about building up their rolls playing Omaha need not to worry about not having many bad Omaha players to play against, as the game has been rising in popularity over recent years and for every one player that resigns to the fact they play better in Hold’em there are ten more to take his place.

All Omaha poker variants are growing rapidly, especially at online poker rooms where there is more traffic at the Omaha tables. On some smaller poker sites, there is a big enough player pool to ensure action at all levels and games, and they tend to have most of their traffic centered around their NLHE tables for both 6-max and FR.

I think winning at Omaha poker is a very possible reality if you at least know the basic fundamentals of what makes good starting hands. The basic rules and concepts of playing Omaha High are pretty straightforward to learn in that you want to make a high hand with the community cards like in Texas hold’em but Omaha Hi players still tend to make quite a few novice mistakes mainly relating to overvaluing their hand. Nowhere is it more important than in Omaha poker than to fold as soon as you know you can’t win the pot.

Looking for The Nuts in Omaha

In Omaha poker, players are chasing to the nuts or at least close to it. You want to be playing nut hands because these are the kind of hands you can win big pots with. Chasing to second best hands is going to be a costly mistake to make and many novice Omaha players venturing into this game have left the table with an empty pocket having learned something from the experience. Your entire stack should not be at risk when you only have a weak straight and flush, until you better know your opponent’s weaknesses and can potentially stack off lighter than you may normally would have.

One of the most common mistakes made by new players is that they simply get too attached to a made hand. Understand that Omaha Hi is a post flop game and it’s a game of draws. There are lots of hands you want to see the flop as cheaply as possible, but regardless of your holdings you will hardly have much of a pre-flop advantage, and it’s the flop where you will able to more accurately define the strength of your hand. This is why good starting hands in Omaha are the ones where you have plenty of drawing possibilities.

So, premium Omaha poker hands include like double suited broadway hands, double connector pairs, and connected cards which have flush and straight draw potential, since you will be drawing to a big hand by the river, and it’s even more ideal when you have combo draws and more outs to win. You only have to rail some of the high stakes Omaha online cash games to see that the majority of three bets are called because the three-bettor will never be a huge favorite.

In Omaha high, you’re dealt more cards than what you are dealt in Texas Hold’em, which creates more hand combinations and ways to make a hand. Because of this you should always assume the other player has hit their draw if the board and player’s actions indicate they have a better hand.

Here is an example of a typical Omaha high game at showdown:

Hole cards of opponents:

Player 1 – 7d-Kd-Ts-Qc
Player2 – X-X-X-X

Community Cards – 7s-2s-Kh-8d-3s

For instance, lets say that you make a big bet on the river with your king seven with two pair and your opponent raises the pot. When your bet on the flop gets called you should automatically assume the player is likely to be going after a flush especially in multi way pots by the river. There are a larger number of potential draws an opponent can have for you to be calling lots of big bets only with medium strength hands.

On the flop you still hold a very solid hand and have greater odds of winning so can make another bet. The turn only improves your odds of winning the hand so you should bet again. The river comes and puts the third spade on the board. Most rookie players will still bet in this situation because they still adopt a Hold’em mindset in that two pair hands are a monster hand like in hold’em. This is a major mistake in Omaha High poker games and one that you always want to avoid doing yourself.

If you bet on the river, he’s most likely going to raise, because he probably has an Ace or King high flush, as most Omaha players chase to the nuts. When facing a large raise on this board, you should strongly consider folding and look to preserve your chips for the times you make a big hand and want to build a bigger pot with it. When playing Omaha High poker, making hands like straights and flushes are very common, so you should always assume the other player has caught their flush when three of the same suit appears on the board.