Pot Limit Omaha (8oB)

   Most of the basic information about becoming a solid Omaha/8 player that is discussed in the first Omaha/8 strategy section is the exact same requirements to play pot limit Omaha/8 well. For that reason, this section is fairly short, but lists a few very important points.

   The first point, and by far the most important, is Do Not play pot limit Omaha/8 until you are a good limit Omaha/8 player. Pot limit Omaha/8 is one of the most unforgiving and expensive games for poor players. In my experience, the best players at the table almost always end up with all of the money in a very short time. In holdem, poor players can win for an extended period of time because of short-term variance. This is greatly reduced in pot limit Omaha/8.

   Because of the ability to magnify the amount of money in the pot quickly, any mistake made can be very costly. Most of the profit made at a poker table is from the mistakes of your opponents. Concentrate on improving your game to a point that you are the player forcing the mistakes, not making them.

   Scoops and redraws are the lifeblood of the winning player. By only getting involved in hands that have scoop potential, and only continuing with your best made hands and those that have a redraw to a better hand, you will quickly become a solid player.

   Poor limit players often make the mistake of trading every dollar they put in the pot for seventy-five cents, and they don’t even realize what they are doing. This happens when three players are in the pot betting and raising and one player wins the high and the other two split the low. Every dollar the two low players put into the pot is only returned at seventy-five cents. The reason they don’t realize this mistake is they ignore their shrinking balance because it feels so good to win part of the pot. This is not very noticeable at 2/4, but in a pot limit game with hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars in the pot, this will quickly break you. Realize that if four players are betting and raising, a split low pot ends up being even money, unless it is split three ways. This doesn’t happen often, but I have seen it many times.