Indecisive Strategies with Aces in Omaha Poker

Many Omaha players abhor pocket aces as if they were sure hands for losing. They view sets from the flop similarly. But how true is this?

Many Omaha players treat pocket aces almost superstitiously at times. They connect them with a sign of a bad play. This is because many observe hands with these cards are weak in most Omaha games. This hand is often rather folded. This is especially true with hand plays involving aces which are difficult especially when we're doing after the flop plays.

Remember that in Omaha we use only two cards from our hole to complete our final 5-card hand. This is what makes the play a bit complicated at times, especially when the hand involves the vaunted aces. With Holdem games, seeing two aces is generally good news for the player. However, in Omaha, getting a set of aces as our hole may require an immediate folding of the hand. In most cases, this also means any four of a kind. The situation of having such ace set is only possible if we're heads-up in our play. Thus, the thing to avoid is ending up with a pair of aces.

A pair of aces is often difficult to improve as the play progresses in Omaha. Just imagine how we can end up with a straight or flush with it. If we got two aces, chances are, there remains just two other aces to hit. If there are several more players in the hand that makes the likelihood of a hit-ace more remote—it's quite possible that one of the players will also have an ace.

Hands that merely have three of a kind are mostly unfavorable to play. But we consider the same for playing if we're dealing with a high-only Omaha. Like for instance, a three of a kind aces, making a pair of aces plus a drawn nut flush, and we're playing the small blind position. This is more likely when there's a multi-way pot. When playing Omaha high-low aces of heart, spade, and diamond may be favorable because of the likelihood of getting an A2. This makes possible drawing a nut flush. A pair of aces doesn't necessarily make our hand any better in Omaha, but it may be good to be the lone player holding an aces pair when we get the chance to have a good hit for nuts.

Before we celebrate holding a pair of aces, we should ascertain whether we're in a Holdem or Omaha poker game.