The complexity of Omaha

So I played some PL Omaha last night and got it handed to me. Really I just hopped in the game to try something new as lately I find myself getting bored with hold'em.

Basically I was destined to lose as I am not a good Omaha player, but what the hell. Many people say that it is actually an easier game than hold em but after playing hold'em almost exclusively for the last 5 years, to me it seemed a bit more complex. It also was also hard to switch gears and realize that an AA in Omaha is not nearly as strong as in hold'em

I can almost play blindfolded with hold'em. I am confident in my starting hand requirements and I usually don't second guess my plays.......(except once in a while in NL)

Anyhow I was playing a much lower limit than I do in hold'em but it felt as if pre-flop play was not nearly as important as how you played after the flop. I don't think there was anything I could call "premium" that I got dealt. Even with an AK or QQ, there are so many hands out there that can be beat you at a full table.

I will probably continue to learn the game a bit more but I think I'll stick to the low limits instead of donking off my bankroll.

On a side note I spent about 2 hours at PlayWinningPoker reading up on Omaha strategy. I highly suggest reading the Omaha Myths section. It's loaded with good info for an Omaha fish like myself

Any good Omaha players feel free to chime in here with some advice or tips.

[Atorvastatin]

I play a bit of Omaha when I get bored with hold em. I find it more complex as well, but I think a skilled Omaha player has a greater advantage over his competition than a skilled Texas Hold em player. I've read the Section on PLO in SS2 and the advice I remember is to NEVER raise from early position no matter how good your starting hand is. Kinda odd to a hold em player, but seems to be the rule in PLO.

[skits2]

Hate to disagree with you here, and I am by no means the highest rolling omaha player out there, but I think that preflop Omaha play is much more important that post-flop. Preflop is where you make most of your money from people not dumping their poor hands. Lots of stuff looks good to people preflop, but when, lo and behold, their garbage hands are still garbage they won't pay to see the turn.

I do agree however that only in rare cases are early position raises a good idea. You want the poor hand to come in and hit the second nuts, not to chase them away

[richardb]

The only games I play online are PL Omaha HI and PL Omaha Hi/Lo. There are so many fish in these games that as long as you are an above average player, you can kill these games. I believe at best, you are a 60 to 40 favorite over your opponents hand. I never raise with aces preflop unless I can get my entire stack in the pot preflop.

The whole key to this game is position. I make a lot of money by cracking aces when I have position on an early position raiser. A lot of players raise the pot preflop with aces and play them hard to the river. Raising with aces is suicide most of the time.

Steve Badger's website and Brunson's SS2 have great advice on PL Omaha Hi.