Limit Omaha/8 Pre-Flop Strategy A Look At Pre-Flop Strategy For Limit Omaha/8 This text has been prepared by The Eureka Kid, on behalf of TheOmahaSplit.com Starting Hand Selection The most important decision you make in an Omaha/8 hand is your starting hand selection. You can give yourself a big advantage by choosing the right types of hands to enter pots with given the circumstances. Omaha/8 is a situational game and this should never be forgotten when it comes to pre-flop play. What should you be looking for when it comes to a starting hand? Well here is a brief list... - An ace, preferably suited - Lack of middle cards (6, 7, 8 or 9) - Completely high hands (K-Q-J-T) - Wheel companions for your ace (2, 3 , 4 or 5) It becomes quite easy to fall into a routine when it comes to starting hands and not to analyze the situation because you make your pre-flop decision. Having said all that, for a full ring Omaha/8 game of average aggression and player quality there is a number of common thoughts on what starting hands you should be playing from your position. I have compiled a number of starting hand recommendations and matrix from a number of sources to highlight some differences in opinion, but also to present you with a basic guide. When using the following information take it with a grain of salt. Over time you will learn to develop your own understanding of the way the game works and what hands you should be playing in the game that you are in. if you ever encounter a downswing or a rough patch it is often good to start and the top and come back to the basic starting hand advice. My Beginner Advice Position Limp/Fold Limp Limp/Raise Raise Early A-K-Q-J K-Q-J-T J-Q-K-K A-A-2-3 A-A-3-x A-2-Q-Q A-3-4-5 A-A-4-5 A-2-x-x A-3-K-K A-A-x-x A-3-4-x A-A-2-3 A-2-3-4 A-2-3-x A-2-K-K Middle J-Q-K-K A-A-3-x A-2-K-K A-2-Q-Q A-2-x-x A-3-K-K A-A-x-x A-3-4-x 2-3-4-5 A-K-Q-J K-Q-J-T A-A-2-3 A-A-2-x A-2-3-4 A-2-3-x A-3-4-5 A-A-4-5 Late Q-J-T-9 A-2-Q-Q A-2-x-x 2-3-4-5 K-Q-J-T K-K-Q-J A-2-K-K A-A-x-x A-3-4-x A-K-Q-J A-A-2-3 A-A-2-x A-A-3-x A-2-3-4 A-2-3-x A-3-4-5 A-A-4-5 A-3-K-K Bold = Premium Hands Tenner/Krieger Advice Hand Description Any A-2-x-x As a general rule you can't go too far astray playing A-2-x-x combinations. There are varying degrees of A-2-x-x hand strength obviously, if your ace is suited or your hand contains some big cards or some other wheel cards then your combinations grows in value. With time you will learn to judge the strength of your A-2 hands and hence how to play them. Any A-3-x-x where the ace is suited With A-3 suited combinations you are looking for the flop to contain a two and another low or a flush draw draw or other high hand draw. You have to be willing and able to let go of your hand on the flop though when you know other players are holding A2 and have flopped a better low or low draw than you. Any A-3-B-B For the purpose of this rule we can include tens as big cards. Your ace isn't suited otherwise it would have qualified under the other A-3 rule, but if your big card is suited then all the better. Any A-W-W-x Ace wheel-wheel combinations are playable hands, especially when your two wheel cards are unpaired. If your ace is suited then even better. With three wheel cards (including the ace) you can often scoop the pot with a nut low and straight for the high. Any A-B-B-x where the ace is suited If the x card in your hand is any low card then your hand has more value, but from late positions these suited ace with big-big hands have some value. Avoid playing them from early position and for raises when you can. You are looking to flop good straights, flushes and full houses with these hands, which will generally allow you to scoop big pots. Any W-W-W-W Even when these combinations do not include an ace it is okay to play them, you should tend to avoid playing these hands for a raise or from early position, but in an unraised pot and close to the button they can be of value. Try and identify loose/passive games to play these types of hands as it is where they are most suited. Any B-B-B-B Obviously if your hand contains three of a kind you should throw it away, but these hands are often referred to as 40 point hands. You can count aces as 11-points, picture cards as 10 and tens and 10 as well. The more players that are already in the pot, the more willing you should be to play these types of hands. Since most players enter the pot with low orientated hands if there are already a number of limpers in the pot this means a lot of low cards must be dead, and the likelihood of a flop that fits your hand coming is greater. The great thing about these hands is that when you do hit your hand on the flop, you are a very good chance to scoop the entire pot. B = any four big cards (A,K,Q,J) | M = any four middle cards (T,9,8,7) | Z - any four small cards (6,5,4,3,2) | L = any four "low" cards (A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | N = any four "no-low" cards (K,Q,J,T,9) | W = any four wheel cards (A,2,3,4,5) Raising Pre-Flop Reasons to Raise Pre-Flop - To build the pot  - To thin field - To establish ones self as the aggression - To learn about other player's hands information - To eliminate players behind you and gain position - To steal the blinds First of all it is important to realize that there are certain situations where raising pre-flop will in no way achieve what you set out to do. For example if you are in the big blind and there are several limpers already in the pot, raising to gain information or position is not going to work as you're likely to get called by every single player regardless. The two most important reasons to raise pre-flop are to build the pot and to thin the field, so our analysis will focus on these two objectives. When To Build The Pot Important to note is the fact that raising might not necessarily build a bigger pot, so you have to pick your spots to raise to build the pot. If you raise from early position, unless you are in a very loose game, will likely discourage players to enter and thus reduce the size of the pot. A common example of raising to build the pot though is you are in middle or late position and there have already been several limpers in front of you. If you raise here, unless it is raise again behind you, it is likely that the limpers already in the pot will call the raise when it gets back to them. What hands should you be doing this with? Well the common thought is that hands like A-2-3-4, A-A-2-x, A-2-3-x and A-2-4-x, especially if your ace is suited. By building the pot pre-flop, when the flop comes down and you flop the nut low draw, which will be a regular occurrence by playing these hands, you will rarely not have the odds to draw to your hand. When To Thin The Field A raise will likely narrow the field when the table is towards the tight side and there is little if anyone entered into the pot already. Your table image is important too, if you have been raising a lot then you are more likely to get action and hence less likely to thin the field. hands that should be raised to thin the field are ones that match up well when against one or two opponents, but less so in big multi-way pots. Hands like A-2-K-x, A-3-5-K or A-2-Q-Q do well against fewer opponents and thus thinning the field will make them much easier and more profitable to play. Against only a couple of opponents rather than several if you make a big pair and a nut low with a hand like A-2-K-x then you are in pretty good shape to scoop. More Advanced Pre-Flop Thinking Situational As you become more advanced in your Omaha/8 thinking you will begin to realize the true situational nature of the game. No rote learnt strategy will be effective as you progress and you will have to develop a deeper understanding of what type of thinking is required to analyze the decision in front of you. With that in mind, here are some further considerations more advanced players make pre-flop.  Loose vs. Tight Games A loose game is one in which, on average, five or more players are heading to the flop. A tight game is one where three or less players head to the flop. How should you adjust your striating hand strategy given these game types? In looser games, hands such as A-2-6-7 gain value, not because of their scooping potential because seldom will you scoop with this sort of hand in a loose game, but because winning half the pot with a nut low can become a +EV proposition because there are more players in the pot. So if you have this sort of hand in a loose game, try and get to the flop with as many players as possible and then hit your hand. In tight games, A-A-x-x combinations go up in value dramatically, as you will generally be able to guarantee that you will be seeing the flop with only one or two opponents. Passive vs. Aggressive Games Passive games have very little pre-flop raising, while aggressive games contains lots of raising and reraising, it can often cost your three or four bets just to see a flop. In passive games you can begin to raise a wider a variety of hands in early position because you know that you aren't going to get as many callers. In aggressive hands the opposite is true, you should play even less hands from early position. In aggressive hands you know the pots are going to be large, so seeing flops with hands that are going to develop into a draw on the flop be it nut low draw, nut flush draw, nut straight draw are best because you are going to have the odds to continue after the flop. Who Is In The Pot? Knowing whether your opponents are solid or maniacs is important. If you flop A-3-K-T and two extremely solid players have already entered the pot, you can be pretty sure at least one of them holds an A-2 and probably a pretty strong A-2 holding, possibly with other wheel card low back-up and suitedness. When several loose players have limped into the pot in front of you, be more likely to raise with your good A-2 and A-3 combinations and punish their looseness. Also be aware of how well your opponents play after the flop. be more likely to enter pots with weak post-flop players as you will be able to make more out of their mistakes than better players post-flop.