Starting Hand Selection In Limit Dramaha

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The earlier articles have laid the foundation and now we are ready to put together a set of reasonable opening (raising) requirements by position. Limping only exposes the fact that you are not thrilled with your Draw holding and also allows the big blind a free look at smashing the Omaha half.

As in all split pot games we must open tighter from early positions and with the nature of the importance on the Draw hand we must be very selective:

UTG (Six handed)
Three Kind + 2.9%
Two Pair (Jacks Up+) 2.4%
A-A 3.3%
K-K-A, K-Ks, K-Kds (K-K is 56% best hand) 3.0%
11.5%

The two most important takeaways here are that we are folding two small pairs such as 5-5-3-3 but raising lesser hands such as aces and kings. Whether you hold 5-5-3-3 or two aces the probability of holding the best hand before the draw is roughly the same. However, as discussed last issue aces are a very good start on the Omaha side and unless they are up against a pat hand they have more equity than two small pair would have on the Draw side against better hands as well.

Thus, a pair of aces is an easy open from first position while we should restrict ourselves to only playing two pair if they are at least jacks up. If you recall jacks up is the median two pair hand. If you happen to run into another two pair it is very important to increase the odds that yours is higher. In addition, you lessen the odds of contesting a multi-way pot against two or more over pairs which can create tricky situations after the draw. Lastly with two smaller pair it is very hard to scoop even against just one player when you do not improve in Omaha.

Kings is a borderline opening as there is only a 56 percent chance that we have the best hand on the initial deal. From the earliest positions you ideally want more of a cushion than 56 percent, however, with an ace kicker the probability that a pair of aces is out is reduced and the ace may also help you in Omaha. Just so we are clear if that ace does not help you for Omaha then you should discard it for maximum improving opportunity in Draw.

In addition, if your kings are suited or double suited your Omaha prospects are improved and you can play. As you can see from the above display most of the time your pair of kings will be accompanied with either an ace or is suited at least once, however, since it is a somewhat marginal open it is important that this extra value is present.

As we move over to the hijack we can open a few more hands, however, in general we still should be very selective:

HJ
Three Kind + 2.9%
Two Pair (Jacks Up+) 2.4%
A-A 3.3%
Kings 3.3%
Good Queens (Q-Q is 54% best hand) 3.0%
14.7%

From the hijack we would now play all pairs of kings and the better Q-Q hands as well. Queens need a little something extra in order to be playable such as an ace and/or king or some suits. A pair of queens from the hijack is slightly more marginal than a pair of kings is from first position so it would be okay to jettison some of these holdings.

We are still restricting our two pair hands to jacks up and better although better versions of lower two pairs such as 9-9-8-8 double-suited can now be opened.

From the first two positions at the table you should not be playing many draws. A holding such as J 9 7 2 2 is a clear fold, however you can certainly open up hands such as A K Q 10 2 and J 10 9 8 2 from any position. The latter hands have more outs to hit a premium draw hand and also have more potential to hit something in Omaha as well.

Opening all flush draws from the first two positions is a leak because although a flush is a very strong draw hand the fact of the matter is that you will miss your flush the majority of the time. When you get isolated preflop you are a big underdog to scoop and will be lucky to get half. When the pot goes off multi-way you must potentially fade heavy flop betting just to get a chance to hit a draw, which you will mostly miss.

As in all poker variants, the cutoff position is where we can begin to open a much wider range of hands:

Cutoff
Three Kind + 2.9%
All Two Pair 4.8%
A-A 3.3%
Kings 3.3%
Queens 3.3%
Jacks (J-J is 56% best hand) 3.3%
10-10-A, 10-10-K (10-10 is 50% best hand) 1.4%
22.0%

We are now opening any two pair and pairs down to tens when accompanied with an ace and/or king kicker. This is approximately 22 percent of your holdings; however we can also begin to attack the blinds with many more drawing hands that will increase our overall opening frequency.

Draws such as A Q 9 8 7 and K Q J 10 2 should often be opened in the hopes of winning immediately, making some hands, or possibly keeping an aggressive posture and winning without a showdown. It is important to note that these holdings have legitimate eight or nine out draws to very strong Draw hands and also have higher cards that have potential to make strong hands or draws in Omaha independent of what they are hoping to hit in Draw.

We can also open some premium pair less Omaha hands with very little in the way of Draw strength such as A K Q J 9. With only three players left to act and only one with position you can open this hand. With this holding you are hoping to hit the flop strong using two or three of your hole cards and then hope to hit a high pair for draw.

When adding in speculative Draw and premium high Omaha hands our final cutoff opening frequency will be probably be around 25-28 percent.

From the best position on the table we can open at a minimum the following holdings:

Button
Three Kind + 2.9%
All Two Pair 4.8%
AA 3.3%
Kings 3.3%
Queens 3.3%
Jacks 3.3%
Tens 3.3%
Nines (9-9 is 58% best hand) 3.3%
8-8-A, 8-8-K, 7-7-A, 7-7-K 2.8%
6-6 – 2-2 w/ suited ace 2.0%
31.9%

Any pair of nines is worthy of an open as well as lesser pairs when accompanied with a good kicker. From the button we should also attack the blinds with any four flush, any open-ended straight draw, and any good Omaha hands accompanied with high cards and suited at least once. When it’s all said and done a total opening percentage of around 40-42 percent appears to be appropriate from the button.

Opening with the correct hands in Dramaha is probably more crucial than it is in any other game. When starting with a solid foundation it’s hard to lose when playing against players who are constantly entering pots with inferior Draw hands. Next issue we will discuss how to deal with the situation when another player opens the pot ahead of you. ♠

Kevin Haney is a former actuary of MetLife but left the corporate job to focus on his passions for poker and fitness. He is co-owner of Elite Fitness Club in Oceanport, NJ and is a certified personal trainer. With regards to poker he got his start way back in 2003 and particularly enjoys taking new players interested in mixed games under his wing and quickly making them proficient in all variants. His new mixed-games website Counting Outs is a great starting resource for a plethora of games ranging from the traditional to the exotic. He can be reached at [email protected].