Limit Omaha/8 - the dominant game

Limit has surpassed NLHE in my poker book as my biggest earner. It's a great game. I really like the way the equity constantly changes through all the streets, so every street you face a new decision and are constantly forced to reassess strategy.

In NLHE generally, it often transpires that you are put to one key decision on one particular street. This will often be of the variety, does he or doesn't he have it. Of course sometimes the decision is purely a mathematical one, based on pot odds and likely ranges but more often you are asking yourself questions such as, "is this a bluff or will he fold if i push here."

In contrast in om/8, especially limit, the maths is dynamic, and many unusual situations are thrown up, such as hands where the nuts, particularly straights, are dogs to drawing hands. This is an adjustment many converts from holdem find hard to make.

For example, let's say u are dealt a nice hand like Ac 2c Ks Kd. You make a raise and are called by 789T double suited, a hand a lot of former holdem players like, due to the presence of suited connectors.

the flop comes down 569 with two clubs and a heart. Now 789T has hti the nuts with a backdoor redraw to a heart flush and some backdoor fh draws. Great flop! Well, despite the fact that he has nuts with a redraw, vs a drawing hand, he is actually behind on the flop!

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=1401926
pokenum  -o8 7d 8h 9d th  - ac 2c kd ks  -- 6s 5c 9c
Omaha Hi/Low 8-or-better: 820 enumerated boards containing 6s 9c 5c
cards          scoop  HIwin  HIlos  HItie  LOwin  LOlos  LOtie     EV
9d 7d  Th  8h    224    497    323      0    141    328      0  0.458
Ks Ac  2c  Kd    293    323    497      0    469      0      0  0.542

So while 789T will cap the flop, he is losing a portion of every $ he puts in here. The other aspect of this is that if he makes the unwise decision to cap the flop, then he will be committed to further bets on later streets when he may be drawing dead or very thin.

This situation shows the importance of hand selection and care with certain hands. Most players are far too blase with this sort of thing which makes the game very profitable, if u are prepared to think about your hands and situations.