Pot-Limit Omaha Starting Hands

Playing in a $500 buy-in pot-limit Omaha game with $5-$10 blinds, in which the usual preflop raise is "$25 to go" (although technically the first to act could make it $35 to go), what would you do with the following seven hands in late position when it would cost you $25 to call. In each case, assume that the preflop raiser is a relatively loose player and that one or two players have called in front of you.

Decide whether you would fold, call for $25, or raise before you proceed to my decisions, which follow:

A. Call. Although you would probably raise with Q-J-10-9, this one-hole wrap flops a big straight draw only about one-fifth of the time. So, you are content to see the flop with a pot of approximately $100.

B. Fold. This is significantly different from hand A, and not really a good hand; hence, it's not worth calling the raise.

C. Raise. This is a great hand, and you will probably be able to bet most flops that have two high cards (and you will often have "depth," also; that is, Plan B possibilities). Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a larger pot, since you can bet more if it gets checked around to you.

D. Call. This is an interesting hand that spans low, medium, and high cards, and rates to flop some kind of straight draw with most three unpaired cards.

E. Call. It's a marginal call, but any ace-high flush holding with two "derringers" (little threats) is worth seeing a small raise.

F. Fold. Although this hand will get a fair share of playable or marginally playable flops, its "second-best" potential is very high.

G. Call. This is a good hand when there are two or three low cards in the flop (and, yes, we'd all rather have 6-6-5-4). But, it is most advantageous with a small or medium stack with which you are willing to gamble after a good flop. In late position, you might even make a small raise before the flop to ensure that you can get all in after the flop or the turn with either the nut straight or a big draw ("come bluff"). Note that large stacks should be very wary when playing this type of hand if there is another large stack in the pot. You would not like to have a fourth of your money in the pot after the turn and have a big scare card hit on the river.

Note that all five calling hands have more than 12 points, using my Cappelletti Point Count System (now available in Poker at the Millennium, by Caro and Cappelletti), whereas each of the two hands that should be folded has about 10 points.