Omaha Hold’em Vulnerability and Weak Combinations. The 2nd part

See beginning in the First Part.

Even more often at Omaha tables I can see a lot of players calling all bets with A-A-x-x no matter how high they are. The instinct of Texas holdem so often gets over these players that they just can’t let the two aces go.

Some time ago such game situation happened with me.

I’m in early position, there are five of us, and I get rainbow K-Q-9-6. There was a small raise and I called it with all the others (often at the small tables it makes sense to call in preflop even with such unimpressive cards). On the flop there appeared Q-Q-6 with two of diamonds. I don’t have flush draw but it doesn’t matter because I got full house!

The pot was not big before the flop so I decided to bet the pot and got a call from one of the players. On the turn 5 of clubs appeared on the board, meaning that flush is not finished and my Q-6 hand is still nuts. In spite of this I don’t want to give somebody a cheap card with Queen and a kicker higher than my 6, otherwise my opponent can collect a stronger full house on the river. So again I bet the pot which in case of call takes my opponent to all-in.

The opponent remains adamant and says call. Now I can only rely on fate and hope that he won’t catch his card on the river. There comes 4 of hearts and I know that the danger has passed and at worst I’ll split the pot with Q-6. The opponent loses the pot and generously shows me his A-A-x-x with irrelevant cards not connected with his bets at all. I should have thought that he had opened his cards to show me how lucky I was. Well, I went on the flop but I didn’t bet a lot of money and I would hardly have played if the flop didn’t suit me perfectly. It is here where lays the very idea of preflop calls – if I don’t catch strong flop I retreat without losing much otherwise I can find myself potentially in good situation, which will bring me in the future over twenty bets. FYI: good post about jacks or better strategy in video poker.

What was my opponent waiting for? The flop came with two queens and equipped with this information he saw one of the rest four players starting to attack. However he didn’t take into account exactly what his opponents could have had; among the sixteen pocket cards – one third of the pack – any could have proved to be one of the two remaining queens (quite good chances). And still he continued to waste his stack by calling with two aces, though he had to catch at least one ace on the last streets.

There are two explanations for this. Either he didn’t see anything but his aces or he believed strongly that I was bluffing!

I must say that I can rely on a pair of aces in Omaha holdem only if in preflop I bet all-in. After the flop aces seldom remain attractive with a few callers especially if two other my cards are not suited or connected.

Based on the words of Tony Bromham.