Lead out with the nuts

It is often quite correct to slow play a flopped monster hand in hold 'em. When you flop top boat you want your opponents to catch up so that you have the opportunity to get paid off on later streets. However, in a split pot game like omaha 8/b, leading out with the nuts is normally better play. Of course, nothing in poker is absolute. In hold 'em, you can deceive your opponent by leading out with a big hand and in omaha 8/b, you can slow play big hands too.

Lets say you catch a lucky flop of 8-2-2 when you hold A-4-8-8 in the small blind. Yes, you flopped a full house and only quad deuces can beat you. However, you really don't want to see any more low cards. Sure, your A-4 may be the best low, but anyone that plays omaha 8/b on a regular basis will know that there is at least one player with the A-3 drawing for low. You don't want to share the pot. Protect your high hand and bet. At an aggressive table you can go for a check raise in this situation as well, but you are often better off betting. Especially in this example as it is likely that someone flopped a deuce. You can lead out and get raised and go for a 3 bet or a check raise on the turn to extract maximum value from your opponent.

Leading with a big hand is more important to do in pot limit omaha 8/b. You want to charge your opponent the maximum to draw for half of the pot when you have the other half locked up. In a pot limit omaha 8/b game, you ideally want to have the nuts one way and have a free roll for the other half. If you hold Ad-2d-6s-7s and the flop is 5c-8d-9d, you'll certainly want to get it all in. In split pot games, don't let your opponents draw to half of the pot for a cheap price. If you have the nuts, make sure you get the whole pot. After all, scooping situations is what split pot poker is all about.