Fixed Limit Omaha High Strategy

Fixed Limit Omaha high strategy involves having a solid understanding of odds and outs and playing positive aggressive poker from good position. Many opponents, particularly at the lower limits will make many errors in Omaha poker. In order to win you will need patience and discipline – as well as a bankroll that can withstand short term swings.

We will start this article by looking at the single most important strategy decision in Fixed Limit Omaha – whether to enter the pot. Next playing draws and position at the table are factored into the discussion. Finally your opponent’s tendencies effect on your strategy will be covered.

Starting Hands

Good starting hand selection is critical in any fixed limit poker game. The reason is that you will often have excellent odds compared to the size of the pot to continue on later streets. This can lead to the situation where it is both ‘correct’ (in a mathematical sense) and expensive to play a hand to the end – you’ll often end up second or 3rd best in a multi-way pot.

In Omaha the 4 starting cards can make it tempting to see a flop with a wide number of holdings – looking to flop the nuts or at least a strong draw. The key skill is to be selective in your choice of starting hand. Pick 4-card combinations which work well together, giving you many ways to make straights, flushes or full houses.

Ask yourself before playing a hand whether your holding has the potential to make the ‘nuts’. Hands with suited aces and high pairs only may look like they have this potential – but these hands are looking for very specific flops. Winning pots in fixed limit Omaha is about giving yourself several avenues for hitting a nut hand.

Position

Your position at the table will affect the hands that you can play and the way that you play them. Make sure that you raise when entering a pot from later position with a reasonable hand to prevent the blinds from seeing a cheap flop.

The advantages of playing from late position include the fact that you get to see your opponent’s reaction to the flop before making a decision yourself. If nobody bets you may be in a position to steal the pot, if there are several bets and raises ahead of you then you will be able to get away from a medium strength hand or non-nut draw.

Opponents

The tendencies of your opponents have a big influence on your fixed limit Omaha strategy. Take careful note of how strong a hand other players need to call all the way to the river and use this information to decide whether to continue betting. Tight players may only re-raise you with the nuts – in this case it can be worth betting out on the flop when the bets are smaller to assess their strength.

Conversely other opponents will always bet out on the flop, whether or not they took the lead earlier in the hand. If you hit a flop hard or have a strong draw you may be able to isolate such players with position, giving you 2 ways to win the pot on later streets.

In summary, because you will often have great pot-odds for continuing with a hand your fixed limit Omaha starting hand requirements need to be strict. Choose hands with the potential to hit the flop in several ways and hands with the potential to hit the nuts from later position. Both position at the table and the tendencies of your opponents have a big influence on your strategy – make sure you watch carefully how each opponent reacts to the flop and adjust your betting accordingly.

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