Omaha H/L postflop???

I've read a bunch of the articles and searched the forums for strategy but can't find much on postflop play. I have a couple of questions. How do you calculate pot odds? Do you cut the pot odds in half if there is 2 low cards or only one on the flop (and you obviously don't have the low draw). Also do you keep calling if you only have the nut draw and pot odds are good? I also mostly play limit but I don't think that matters much.

Also I usually play Fixed Limit but what about betting in pot limit? Should I bet similar to betting in hold 'em?

In Omaha H/L, as in all high low games, it's all about scooping. If you are only drawing for high and there are low cards on the board you should generally fold.

Pot odds aren't as important as scoop possibilities. Now if you are drawing for high and there are no low cards pot odds would apply. Things you have to remember are that if there are 3 cards to a flush chances are there is one. If there is a pair there is a good chance of a boat. hands that you think are good in holdem are good to lose money with in Omaha.

One of the keys is pre-flop selection. You should mostly play hands with good scoop potential.

I understand about scooping but I play the .02/.04 games right now on Stars. actually I've played up to .10/.20 Fixed and still about the same. There are at least 6 people in a hand most pretty passive so scooping doesn't seem as important. I don't mind sharing a .60 pot when I'm only betting .04 into it. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm pretty new to omaha but I'm picking up really well.

You should rarely play for half the pot, when you factor in the times you lose the half you are after it's al ong term loser. I'm talking about drawing to only half, of course if you have the nuts go ahead and build the pot as long as there are at least 3 players in the pot and take half. You asked about drawing, you should almost never draw to only half the pot when all you can win is half. Of course you may have a hand where you are drawing to the nuts both way such as you have the A2 of hearts and there are 2 hearts and two low cards on the board. That's amonster draw that should be played fast.

But seriously, I know you are playing low limits and there are alot of people in every pot but what seperates the good players from the mutts is scooping. The more players in the hand the more likely someone has or will have the nuts.

JimboJim said:

I have a couple of questions. How do you calculate pot odds? Do you cut the pot odds in half if there is 2 low cards or only one on the flop (and you obviously don't have the low draw)

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You don't cut them in half because a low will not always hit.

With a 2 low-card flop, assuming we have no low cards there are 24 other 'low cards' that can come on the turn or river, out of 45 remaining cards, so it's like 75% that a low will come. We also have to factor in the fact that if we put our opponent on a naked low draw then that's only 22 cards remaining, and also the fact that some low cards will pair villain rather than make him a low. I'd use something like 60-65% as a general rule, accounting for all this.

So let's say 65% of the time we will be playing for 50% of the pot

(.35*100)+(.65*50) = 35+32.5 = ~67.5%, so we're playing, in essence for roughly 67.5% of the pot on average. Reduce the size of the pot to ~67.5% of it's total size for pot odds calculations.

Dorkus Malorkus said:

(.35*100)+(.65*50) = 35+32.5 = ~67.5%, so we're playing, in essence for roughly 67.5% of the pot on average. Reduce the size of the pot to ~67.5% of it's total size for pot odds calculations.

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If it doesn't already take me long enough to decide my play

helpful though, thanks.

In LO8, too many people continue after the flop by drawing to non nut hands. They also don't play their hands correctly, meaning they play fast when they should slow down and vice versa. You should generally play for the scoop but in games where there are 5 or more people in every hand you are missing out on potential profit if you only play to scoop.

It is ok to play for only half the pot under the right circumstances. If you have a nut flush draw in a multihanded pot and there is no pair on board then it is ok to go to the river. In this case you want to check/call rather than bet, if there is a lot of action before you and you have to call multiple big bets then you should let your hand go. When going for just high, it should be to the nuts so only stick around with nut flush draws, nut straight draws(OESD or a big Wrap) and top set on unco-ordinated rainbow boards.

If you flop a nut low it is wrong to fold it unless there is a lot of action from tight players. If you only have a nut low draw with no high prospects you need to use your judgement. Ideally you want to have low protection A23 or A24 instead of just A2. You want the pot to be multihanded so that if you end up getting 1/4rd you wont lose money. You also want to be against weak players, the type who play middle straight cards and draw to non nut lows.

In Mike Cappelletti's How To Win At Omaha High/Low Poker he talks about Pushing and Pulling. Pushing is when you push people out of the pot and Pulling is when you pull people into the pot. You want to push people out when you have a nut hand in one direction and a marginal one in the other. You want to pull people into the pot when you have a two way nut hand. This has helped my game quite a bit, particularly when playing higher limits or against decent players.

An example of when to push is when you have the nut flush on the turn with an A4 low on a board that has 3 low cards higher than 4. In this situation you want to bet/raise because you'll probably be able to make anyone with an A3 or 32 fold their hand. An A2 wont fold but if a 2 were to come on the river you would end up scooping. Cappelletti calls this a Promo Raise as it promotes your marginal holdings chances of winning. You can do the same when you have the low locked in and have a J high flush. Betting and raising here could force out anyone with a Q or K high flush allowing you to scoop if no-one has the nut flush.

An example of when to pull is when you have a protected nut low and the nut flush on the turn. In this situation you want to build the pot in a way that doesn't push people out. Betting/raising from an EP is not a good play as you force people to call two big bets. If you're 1st to act its better to check*, especially if the players on your left are aggressive and likely to bet. This allows you to check raise and anyone in MP/LP who called the 1st bet will often be trapped and call the 2nd. If you're in a LP and there has been a bet and calls to you, go ahead and raise. If the action before you goes bet, call, call, raise and you're to act in last position, don't reraise as you'll be forcing people to call two big bets. By just calling the raise you make it easier for other people to stay in the hand. Pulling in LO8 is all about reducing you're investment in the pot and at the same time increasing the investment by everyone else which increases you're profits.

*In the micro limits(2c/4c, 5c/10c and sometimes 10c/20c) where the play is very weak/passive checking in EP could see the the action be checked around. You dont want this to happen so betting 1st in this type of game isn't a bad play.

Also, pimpage.