Q&A #69: Limit Omaha High Starting Hands

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I’ll break out of my norm and answer a non-hold’em question today. Though I’ve played a fair amount of non-hold’em poker, I generally consider myself weaker on the other games than on hold’em, so I try to stick to hold’em-related questions. However, I felt I could write something worth reading on this topic. Durum asks,

I need to learn how to play omaha quick. The 15-30 has dried up so we are now playing 10-20 mix 1 round of omaha 1 round of hold’em. The good news is the fish are back and loving it. The omaha game is incredibly loose and in turn seems to carry over to the hold’em rounds.(It’s actually amazing how this has turned what was fast becoming a dry game)

The problem is i don’t know how to play omaha very well (we play for high only) there isn’t much info out there except for omaha hi lo or omaha 8 or better so i’m really at a loss for starting hands.

Average players pre-flop is 7-10 few raises however if a certain villain is playing, then every hand will be raised once pre-flop until he’s no longer “in the mood”. The play post flop is again very loose and fairly passive.

So in a very loose omaha game what hands should i be looking to play?

Can i get away with playing very very tightly pre-flop? Or does the nature of the game force you to play a fair number of hands?

Pretty much whenever there are 7-10 players to the flop, you can get away with playing very tightly. And I think you should play very tightly while you get your feet wet. In general, I think it’s a lot easier to learn to loosen up here and there after playing tight than it is to learn to tighten up when you’re overly-loose. And tight play preflop will put you on more solid ground after the flop, which will be good for getting a feel for postflop play, as well as good for your mindset.

Before I start, I want to recommend a short, easy read that discusses limit Omaha on exactly your level. Omaha Poker by Bob Ciaffone is the book you’re looking for. It’s short, sweet, and easy to follow.

So here are my basic guidelines. They’re intended for someone new to limit Omaha who wants to get up and running (and hopefully winning) as soon as possible. It’s not optimal advice, it’s simple and effective advice.

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