Sunday, December 14, 2008

Shorthanded Omaha 8/b

I recently sat down in a $10/$20 Omaha 8/b game with a full kill (this means you play $20/$40 on the next hand if someone scooped a pot and the winner has to post). We were short handed after a Hold 'Em player went bust and I was clearly the rock at the table. While no particular hand was interesting enough to warrant its own entry, one observation I had was that in limit games as opposed to no limit or pot limit you won't scare away an aggressive player when you bet. In a no limit or pot limit game if a rock starts betting at a flop everyone usually dumps their hand. However, in a limit game (and especially omaha 8/b) aggressive players will tend to call you to try and catch their draw. It is hard to bet someone out of a pot in limit games. Thus, if you are a rock, you do need to mix up your play from time to time and get in with a non-premium hand. This is even more important when short handed.