Omaha Cash Game Considerations

Omaha cash games are quite a bit different from the cash games you are probably already used to with Texas Hold 'Em and there are several considerations that need to be made when you are playing in them. While what is written below is by no means an exhaustive list, it is at the same time a list of the most important considerations that need to be made.

The level and the limit are quite important. This is true for all poker variants, but it is especially true for Omaha because of the great variance the game can display at times. However, the variance is different in Omaha because while variance can work your way in Hold 'Em even if you have no clue what you are doing, in Omaha it is quite easier to derail yourself with a lack of knowledge. Therefore, when you are just beginning try to play at micro limits and if possible avoid pot limit games altogether. This is sometimes difficult to do (even online) because pot limit Omaha is more popular than all other Omaha forms put together, but if you are signed up at multiple online poker sites it should not be a big problem.

Try not to steal as much in late position. One of the things that you are told to do without fail in a Hold 'Em cash game is to make real estate raises. These are raises that you make either in the cut-off or the button in an attempt to steal the blinds. They are emphasized more in tournament play, but many cash game Hold 'Em specialists are happy to do them as well. In Omaha however, you are more likely to be called. This is not only because of the relative inexperience of many Omaha players, but it is also because an Omaha player has a greater chance to luck into an excellent hand on the flop because of the four cards they already hold and therefore the blinds are always going to be more inclined to call a late position raise.

These two considerations are perhaps the biggest things for you to think about when it specifically comes to the Omaha cash game. If you can keep to low limit games early on and try not to steal as much from late position as you would in a Hold 'Em game, then you will be ready for more advanced techniques.