Omaha High-Low Quiz #2

[Matt]

You are in the cut-off position with K:diamonds:Q:hearts:J:diamonds:J:hearts:. The game is loose and generally passive. Two early players and two middle players limp. You call because your hand has the potential to make a strong high hand and can possibly win the entire pot if there is no possible low. The small blind completes and the big blind checks. The flop comes 2:diamonds: 3:clubs: 9:diamonds:. The blinds and both early players check. The first middle player bets and the second middle players calls. The pot contains nine small bets. What do you do?

[Nima]

I did vote for the quizes, but i dont know anything about Omaha. strategy.


Im waiting to see what your answers and your reasons behind them are.

Nima

[Matt]

You are in the cut-off position with K:diamonds:Q:hearts:J:diamonds:J:hearts: . The game is loose and generally passive. Two early players and two middle players limp. You call because your hand has the potential to make a strong high hand and can possibly win the entire pot if there is no possible low. The small blind completes and the big blind checks. The flop comes 2:diamonds: 3:clubs: 9:diamonds:. The blinds and both early players check. The first middle player bets and the second middle players calls. The pot contains nine small bets. What do you do?

This hand should be folded. At best, you can only win half of the pot. You should also fold this hand in an Omaha High game. Unless the ace of diamonds comes, you cannot make the nuts. If this were a limit hold'em game, it would be correct to raise this flop with K:diamonds:J:diamonds: . If you held pocket jacks, you should call on the flop and raise if no diamond comes on the turn (I'll talk more about this in the limit hold'em forum). However, this hand can get you into trouble in Omaha.

I ran a simulation using cardplayer.com's pot odds calculator. Assume that you and two other players call. Here are the hands:

:diamK: :heartQ: :diamJ: :heartJ: (your hand)
:diamA: :diam3: :club8: :heart8:
:spadeA: :spade9: :club5: :clubJ:
:diam6: :diam7: :heart4: :club4:
:spadeK: :spade2: :heartA: :heart5:

Flop:
:diam2: :club3: :diam9:

Players in low-limit games will play these types of hands and often go to the river with them. Your hand has only a 17% chance of winning the high and an 8% chance of scooping. In contrast, hand #2 has a 41% chance of winning the high and the best chance of scooping (12%). Hand #4 is the only hand that can win the low (17% chance). This is ironic, since both hands should have been folded before the flop, especially hand #4.

This simulation isn't exactly scientific. Obviously, your results will differ if you use another set of hands. Still, these numbers illustrate how dramatically hand values can change after the flop and why it is so important to draw to the nuts in Omaha.

[Matt]

This hand should be folded. At best, you can only win half of the pot. You should also fold this hand in an Omaha High game. Unless the ace of diamonds comes, you cannot make the nuts. If this were a limit hold'em game, it would be correct to raise this flop with K:diamonds:J:diamonds: . If you held pocket jacks, you should call on the flop and raise if no diamond comes on the turn (I'll talk more about this in the limit hold'em forum). However, this hand can get you into trouble in Omaha.

I ran a simulation using cardplayer.com's pot odds calculator. Assume that you and two other players call. Here are the hands:

:diamK: :heartQ: :diamJ: :heartJ: (your hand)
:diamA: :diam3: :club8: :heart8:
:spadeA: :spade9: :club5: :clubJ:
:diam6: :diam7: :heart4: :club4:
:spadeK: :spade2: :heartA: :heart5:

Flop:
:diam2: :club3: :diam9:

Players in low-limit games will play these types of hands and often go to the river with them. Your hand has only a 17% chance of winning the high and an 8% chance of scooping. In contrast, hand #2 has a 41% chance of winning the high and the best chance of scooping (12%). Hand #4 is the only hand that can win the low (17% chance). This is ironic, since both hands should have been folded before the flop, especially hand #4.

This simulation isn't exactly scientific. Obviously, your results will differ if you use another set of hands. Still, these numbers illustrate how dramatically hand values can change after the flop and why it is so important to draw to the nuts in Omaha.

In my first simulation, I intentionally gave someone else the nut flush draw. This skews the results somewhat, but someone will have a better flush draw much more often than you might think.

Here is another set of hands that your opponents might hold:

:diamK: :heartQ: :diamJ: :heartJ: (your hand)
:heartA: :heart3: :diam3: :diam4:
:clubQ: :club7: :spade10: :diam8:
:diamA: :spadeJ: :heart2: :spade2:
:diam5: :diam6: :spade3: :club4:

Flop:
:diam2: :club3: :diam9:

You now have the best flush draw, but your chances of winning the high are only 20%; you have a 6% chance of scooping. Hand #5 has a 31% chance of winning the high and a 13% chance of scooping. Hand #2 has a 28% chance of winning the high, a 55% chance of winning the low, and a 24% chance of scooping. Even if you hit the case jack on the turn, you are an underdog to Hand #3, which has a lot of outs to hit a straight or a flush on the river.

[Steve-O]

That's the easiest fold I have ever seen. I wouldn't chase if my flush draw was the nut draw here, simple fold.