Big Draws in Pot-Limit Omaha

Riding along with the current boom and proliferation of no-limit hold'em poker on television, Omaha tournaments are also becoming increasingly popular. And the participation in online Omaha tournaments has been steadily increasing, especially pot-limit. Although I strongly prefer pot-limit Omaha (straight high), it is indeed the Omaha high-low pot-limit tournaments that are drawing hundreds of players every night on the Internet.

One of the bigger pitfalls in pot-limit (or no-limit) Omaha high-low can occur when you are looking at top set after the flop. Very few Omaha players holding top set after the flop realize that they might be big underdogs.

Note that even when playing straight Omaha high, in which there is no threat of a low taking half of the pot, a player holding top set might nevertheless be an underdog to a player holding a big draw. More than 10 years ago, in a column titled "The Big Straight Draws" (Card Player, July 29, 1994, or, How to Win at Omaha High-Low, Page 115), I asked readers who would be the favorite in an all-in confrontation between top set and a 20-out straight draw after the flop in Omaha high.

According to Mike Caro's Poker Probe simulation, the big straight draw would win about 56 percent of the time. And if the big straight draw also had a flush draw going for it (increasing the number of outs from 20 to 25), it would beat the top-set hand about 62 percent of the time. So, even in straight high, a player holding top set after the flop might be an underdog to a big drawing hand.

But when playing Omaha high-low, a top-set hand also has a low to contend with. So, for example, if the flop comes K-5-4 rainbow (three different suits) and you have pocket kings, you might be unpleasantly surprised to find yourself all in against a 7-6-3-2, as you will lose more than 63 percent of the time. And if the straight draw also happens to have a flush draw going for it, your top set will lose more than 69 percent of the time.

Now, let's say you happen to have top set when there are three low cards (8 or lower) on board. For example, you have pocket eights with an 8-5-3 on the board, and one of your opponents happens to hold a 7-6-4-2. You will win only about 23 percent of the time, and even less (about 20 percent) if the big straight draw also has a flush draw.

Since it is desirable to have low straight draws in Omaha high-low, for your convenience, in the following chart I have listed the lowest 20-out draws for each of the seven types of draws that were listed in the article cited above.

When you pick up a big draw in pot-limit (or no-limit) Omaha high-low, there are three general approaches to playing the hand. In the first, "keep it low," you might simply check and call any bet, and wait until you actually hit your draw before making your move. This strategy is best in a game in which the other players frequently bet after the flop.

The second approach, "spiking the pot," is to lead or raise with a moderate bet, such that if called, the pot will be big enough for you to make a large pot-size bet if you hit your hand on the turn.

The third approach, "grab it now," is to bet the pot (or raise the pot) to try to win it by default, or have an odds-on gamble if you're called. Perhaps the main consideration here is your relative chip position and the stack size of the other players in the pot. There are many times that you would rather not gamble even in an odds-on situation, but that's a topic for another column.