Poker Strategy: Omaha Eight-Or-Better Fundamentals With Randy Ohel

The World Series of Poker is typically the one time of the year where all of poker’s variants are on display at the highest level. Randy Ohel is a regular in the high-stakes mixed game scene, both in tournaments and in cash games.

Ohel has a WSOP bracelet from his victory in the $2,500 2-7 triple draw in 2012, and has cashed in several other variants, including runner-up finishes in the 2018 $10,000 2-7 triple draw, the 2016 $10,000 seven card stud eight-or-better championship, and the 2014 $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship.

The Florida native and Las Vegas resident has more than $2 million in live tournament earnings, almost exclusively in mixed events. Ohel has delved into the coaching realm of poker and is currently taking students to learn non-hold’em games. He can be found on Twitter @RandyOhel.

In an effort to provide readers with a solid fundamental strategy of mixed games, Card Player sat down with Ohel to break down a hand from the 2018 WSOP $10,000 Omaha eight-or-better championship between four-time bracelet winner Eli Elezra and Omaha specialist Kyle Miaso.

The Action

Four-handed at the final table, Eli Elezra raised from under the gun and Kyle Miaso called from the big blind. On the flop, Miaso checked, Elezra bet, and Miaso called. On the turn, Miaso checked, Elezra bet, and Miaso check-raised.

Elezra called the check-raise and Miaso bet the river as well. Elezra raised and Miaso called. Both players held the nut low, but Elezra took three-quarters of the pot with a nine-high straight.

Steve Schult: In a previous piece we did about 2-7 triple draw (2-7TD), you mentioned that opening from the cutoff short-handed is different than opening from the cutoff in a full ring game because there are very specific cards that will hit the muck in that game, leaving many of the good cards left for the players in the blinds. Does this same principle apply in Omaha eight-or-better since Eli is raising from the cutoff, or under-the-gun, four-handed?

Randy Ohel: It applies, but not as strongly as in 2-7TD. There is definitely an element of it because the ace is such a key card, but it’s not as powerful as an effect. You’re thinking along the right lines though.

SS: Let’s just touch on preflop hand selection in general. What would be considered a premium hand in this game? What should Eli be opening from the cutoff?

RO: Eli is going to be opening a lot of hands because he’s Eli, but everyone is going to open quite a few hands four-handed from the cutoff, or whatever you want to call that. Premium hands are going to be considered suited aces with a wheel card and a Broadway card, pocket aces with wheel cards, and the other obvious hands.

Low rundowns are playable [from Eli’s position], and you could open a high card with three wheel for sure. He’ll definitely open some combinations of two Broadway, two wheel, or something like that.

SS: When you say “three wheel cards,” are all wheel cards created equal? Is something like K-2-4-5 the same as A-K-5-4.

RO: When I say three wheel cards, I meant ace-less in this case. The ace hands are good, obviously. But when you look at hands that are a little bit weaker that you can still open, these are the ones that don’t contain an ace. For example, K-4-3-2 double suited is a much stronger hand than 10-5-4-3 rainbow. And there is a continuum there in between those.

SS: Kyle defends his big blind. How much should he be defending here?

RO: He’s going to be doing this a lot. In Omaha, equities run very close together. It’s not easy to be a 60-40 favorite, or much more than that, so you have to defend a lot. And Kyle is an absolute wizard at this game. He’s going to be defending properly wide and playing well post-flop, especially since he’s going up against another wide range. He knows that Eli is going to be opening very wide as well.

SS: Kyle was third in chips with seven big bets and the short stack had four big bets remaining at this point, while Eli and Paul Volpe had massive chip stacks. How much does ICM affect Kyle’s preflop decision making?

RO: Eli is going to win the blinds way more here than he would in a cash game. Kyle can’t defend nearly as much here as he would in a cash game because he would like to ladder up obviously, but it’s not like no-limit where all of a sudden his whole stack is going to be at risk. He can still see a flop and proceed with caution and try and figure out how many bets he wants to put in at that point.

SS: Kyle defends and the flop is 8-7-3 rainbow. Forgive me if I’m using no-limit hold’em terminology in a game where it doesn’t apply, but does this board favor the raiser or the big blind defender? Who has the range advantage here?

RO: That’s definitely an important factor in any flop game. This is a better board for the opener. He has more A-2 and A-4 in his range. He also has fewer high-card rundowns than Kyle will.

SS: Eli will have fewer high-card hands? So, would he not be opening something like K-J-J-10?

RO: That particular hand is openable, but there are definitely more high-type hands that Eli won’t open that Kyle will defend with. And Kyle will have fewer A-2’s, so it will be much harder for him to be aggressive.

SS: Kyle checks, Eli bets, and Kyle calls. I’m guessing this is standard since the board favors the raiser?

RO: On this texture, yes. The most common board texture that the big blind would lead are like high-high-low boards. That would be considered the best texture for the big blind in this spot.

SS: Is Eli going to have a check-back range here?

RO: For sure.

SS: So Eli wouldn’t be betting this with a range advantage just to take advantage of ICM considerations?

RO: No. He’s just not winning the pot enough. Also, his worst hands are blocking the sorts of hands that Kyle would check-fold and unblocking the sorts of hands that Kyle would continue with. Let’s pretend that Eli has K-Q-J-10, which is the worst hand you could have on this board. Having those cards blocks Kyle from having the cards that would check-fold. And it simultaneously unblocks the types of hands that Kyle would continue with.

SS: Given the board texture, when Kyle check-calls, does this mean that the hand is automatically going to showdown? Wouldn’t he almost always have at least a low that he will check-call three streets with?

RO: Often yes, but not automatically. If he has something like 4-5-6, which would be a weak low and a wrap. He probably wouldn’t call down unimproved, but he would likely call a flop and turn bet.

SS: The turn is the Q. Kyle check-raises, and in my mind, that card looks like a brick. So what would he be check-raising in this spot?

RO: If this were like a six-way pot or something like that, it would change a lot less than when it’s a heads-up pot because it introduces a new top pair. Something like A-Q-2 just became very strong. Or he could have A-Q-4 or A-Q-5. Those types of hands just shot up in value.

It’s not like he’s up against a nine-handed under-the-gun range, where the under-the-gun player always has A-2. He’s up against a much weaker range than that, and more lows can be good. So he needs to get value from two-way hands like A-Q-4-7 or something like that. It’s possible that he was slow playing on the flop, but that is much less likely.

SS: In your opinion, what is the worst hand to check-raise the turn with?

RO: That’s a good question. Probably A-Q-4 or something like that.

SS: Eli calls the check-raise. How much does that narrow down Eli’s holding?

RO: He could have a number of hands. He doesn’t have his strongest hands because he didn’t three-bet and he doesn’t have his weakest hands because he didn’t fold. He just has everything in the middle.

SS: If he were to three-bet the turn, what would be some of his strongest possible hands?

RO: Any A-2 with two pair. Or A-K-K-2 or A-A-2-X. Maybe A-4 with queens-up, actually.

SS: The turn brought backdoor hearts. Does that change ranges much when the check-raise comes into play?

RO: Flush draws are always a possibility and they factor into the equity and there might be certain hands that Eli has that picked up hearts that he would continue barreling with that he wouldn’t have if he didn’t. Those hands do exist.

SS: Are there going to be river cards that will make Kyle check? Let’s imagine the river was a king, should he still be betting?

RO: I can’t think of any rivers that he wouldn’t be betting. I guess if he gets counterfeited, he still has enough protection where he has a pretty good low and two pair since he would make queens-up with an A-5. I don’t think there’s a river he would be checking.

SS: When Eli raises, is he just always representing a straight?

RO: Yes.

SS: What happens to the value of Kyle’s hand when he gets raised?

RO: Would you rather just get called? Sure. Once you get raised, you’re never scooping and you’re never winning three-quarters. Those options have disappeared. But he definitely has plenty of options to get half. You’re not happy to get raised, but you’re still calling. It doesn’t really matter.

SS: I just wanted to go back to the turn real quick because I think that’s the most interesting part of the hand. Is turn check-raising a commonly used play in this game?

RO: He basically had a one-way hand on the flop. And remember, he doesn’t have a ton of chips, so even if he had A-2-4-X, he’d be more inclined to raise then when he has A-2-5-X because there are fewer bad things that can happen. When you’re shorter on chips, you have to be more cognizant of all the bad things that can happen. He check-raised the turn just because he picked up top pair and a flush draw and now has a two-way hand.

SS: If Eli had three-bet the turn, is it still just a call down by Kyle?

RO: Unless Kyle improved again, yes. I think he would lead the river if he hit a heart, and I think he would lead the river if an ace came, since he would have top two and second nut low and is now scooping a lot of the hands that were beating him on the flop.

SS: Kyle did get pretty unlucky on this river.

RO: Yes, and imagine what happens if he’s up against A-2-7-8 and an ace comes on the river. He goes from getting quartered to scooping.

The Outcome

Miaso was ultimately eliminated in fourth place, earning $129,648. It was his second-best finish in the event, behind the runner-up performance he made in 2015 worth $241,691. He also final tabled the 2019 $1,500 triple draw event and the 2019 $1,500 pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better event.

Elezra went on to finish in second place, banking $258,297 and falling just short of his fifth career bracelet. Elezra, who has $4 million in career live tournament earnings, won his bracelets in the 2007 $3,0000 stud eight-or-better, the 2013 $2,500 triple draw, and both the 2015 and 2019 $1,500 stud events.

The eventual title went to longtime tournament grinder Paul Volpe, who took home $417,921 for the fourth-largest score of his career. This was his third bracelet win, following victories in the 2014 $10,000 no-limit 2-7 lowball and the 2016 $1,500 eight-game mix events. He has $8.5 million in live tournament earnings, which includes runner-up finishes at the 2013 L.A. Poker Classic main event and the 2018 WSOP $10,000 six-max no-limit hold’em event. ♠