omaha allin preflop

I recently started playing omaha cash games between $25-$100 max buyin. I am surprised that almost every time I sit down there there are players that go allin preflop like 20% of the time. These are not small stacks either I'm watching someone push with over $700 at risk at the 100 table. Can't be a longterm winner right? It is somewhat frustrating because I have to fold or risk some premium hands. I'm thinking I should just call with only top 10 hands no matter what especially if there are others to play. Isthis a common strategy in omaha?

do they play no-limit omaha? it is somewhat harder to get your stack in the middle if you are playing PLO, although obviously still doable.

the thing is, in omaha no hands are significant favorites over others preflop. this means that at some point, you are priced in to get your money in the middle and just gamble. it is probably not a strategy that can win much, but at least it is great fun

If i play omaha i prefer PLO because of this preflop gambling, i would just search for tables with players who do not shove every hand preflop. Omaha is a nice game psotflop, if you are good in it then you can make the money, no wonder that most of the best poker players played omaha before

I really hate NL Omaha and if thats the case here, I think you should call with your top hands if you've seen players shove with worse hands. I dont think its a good long term strategy because the percent of favorites to random hands are way lower. Its made to play post flop. If its NL omaha 8, I think its a little more safe to shove pre and people def have this strategy.

get out while you can!! jk
Omaha is super fun, but it sounds like you need to hit up PLO and not no limit...

Thanks for the advice. I think NL the way it's being played is totally beatable but I'm not sure I can stand the swings. PLO seems a good solution

Great fun

Omaha NL is a great game for fun but if you are pushed to go all-in before the flop there is no dilema. You should run away from there. In poker, luck is a great factor but still I don't want to gamble 100%, for that you can play roulete.

NL Omaha takes out a lot of the playability and skill from the game. PL Omaha is postflop a game of implied odds and ever-changing nut hands. If you can just overbet shove with the nuts to protect your hand, it makes it a much more simplistic game.

Most preflop raised pots in PLO turn into a "can you crack these aces postflop and/or bluff the guy off his big pair"-fest postflop. If guys can just stack off preflop with an overbet while holding an AAxx hand, it actually kills the action really badly.

AAxx is pretty much over-rated

At first glance would this look almost like a coin flip to you?

Omaha Hi Simulation ?
1,086,008 trials (Exhaustive)
Hand equity Wins Ties AhAdKsQc 53.01% 575,680 0 2s3s4h5h 46.99% 510,328 0
In aggressive games I'm mostly limping in and playing post flop.

At about 5000 hands I'm up 3 buyins. Hard to say if I'm beating the game or just variance as I've already had swings over 10 BI's. Omaha is fun though!

gnarus said:

AAxx is pretty much over-rated

At first glance would this look almost like a coin flip to you?

Omaha Hi Simulation ?
1,086,008 trials (Exhaustive)
Hand Equity Wins Ties AhAdKsQc 53.01% 575,680 0 2s3s4h5h 46.99% 510,328 0
In aggressive games I'm mostly limping in and playing post flop.

At about 5000 hands I'm up 3 buyins. Hard to say if I'm beating the game or just variance as I've already had swings over 10 BI's. Omaha is fun though!

Click to expand...

If you have aces pre, specially great aces like the ones you describe, you get it in preflop every time if possible. You will run into many situations where you are near a 2:1 favorite and those are great odds in Omaha.

One raises in Omaha for the same reasons in Holdem. To win the money in the pot uncontested or to build a pot with a good hand or to buy position for the hand. Limping in pre is simply a bad strategy


The variance in Omaha is an order of magnitude greater than that of Hold'em. I hate to say it, but your 5k sample size is meaningless for determining if you are or are not a winning player at the game. Continue to read, study, play within your bankroll, and you could very well win long-term though. Great action in Omaha games