Playing Late in Omaha Tournaments

The last strategy article concerning playing in the early and middle parts of an Omaha tournament ended with commentary about how you should increase your aggression when it is getting close to the money. This is a strategy that you likely already know from Hold 'Em, but it is a strategy that actually works better in Omaha than it does in Hold 'Em. The primary reason for this is the fact that there are twice as many cards involved in Omaha, so naturally one would be more suspicious of the hand a person is raising with because there are more possibilities that it could be at least partially strong.

For example, what would you do if you knew your opponent had two rag cards and then A-K? Very likely, if your hand was not great, you would lay it down. This is not just because of the fact that they have A-K, but it is also because of the fact that you are close to getting into the money and you might even be able to fold your way there. These psychological considerations are amplified in Omaha, so as a good player you want to take advantage of them by being aggressive and stealing as many blinds as possible.

For the rest of the late stages of a tournament, you want to alternate between playing conservatively and playing aggressively depending on the situation as well as the archetypes of the players at your table. One situation where you want to ratchet up the aggression is when the prize money is close to increasing. In larger tournaments, usually more than one person will win the same amount of money when you are still very early on into the money. As this prize level comes close to increasing, an effect that is similar but not as pronounced as the bubble effect will take place. When this happens, you want to be aggressive and add all that dead money out in the middle of the table to your stack. Playing the opposite way of how the table is playing is the best way to win any poker tournament and with the Omaha variant it is a particularly poignant way of doing things.

Now, many people will tell you that you need a completely different strategy for playing at the final table. I would disagree here, simply because what leads many players to their downfall is getting away from their strong fundamental strategies because they perceive the final table as somehow being different from the others. The only difference between a Sit N' Go and a final table is that players start with uneven chip stacks; that is all. Play a final table the way you would play a Sit N' Go with strategy adjusted for your chip stack size and you will have the best chance possible at getting through and winning the Omaha tournament.