I have said that poker is a waste of time. I'm starting to realize that my mind is capable of winning at it. I've read up on some tricks and material on how to strategically play and used some of them. They actually work pretty well. When you play poker for a long time, the numbers and figures really matter. It's like running a business- when you know that your investments will make you a positive return it becomes a very good option.
I've been specializing in Omaha Hi/Lo because I like how you also get the option of splitting the pot with another player. It's really not bad for me because I categorize myself as a recreational player who can play well enough to just break even. Some players are negative return players and should never really return to the table. Some players are super good and make so much because they know when to bluff and can manage to find the luck of the draw and also manage their bets very well. Those players should continuously play at tables and make an earning off of it, if they really want to that is. Poker is pretty popular on the online culture these days around the world and so some make it a profession for themselves.
These are the strategies that I've found work quite well for Omaha Hi/Lo. In Omaha, it's all about your starting hands or pre-flop. Omaha plays just like Hold-em, but you play with four pocket cards instead of two. You then get dealt three cards called the flop. Players usually have five options: check, call, raise, re-raise, or fold. To be successful, all of these must be used! Then the turn card is played, after that you get the river. For a total of five cards played, you get what's called the community cards which is what everybody shares. In Hold-em, the best five card hand is made. However, in Omaha you can only use two of your four original cards and also only three of the community cards to make the best hand. If you misinterpret the rules for Omaha Hi/Lo, you may end up regretting it a lot.
I just call with some starting hands, sometimes you have to fold when people keep on re-raising because you have to sometimes believe they are holding better starting hands than you. It's also not also that bad to be the underdog but in figures it's good to not put all your money in the pot for a starting hand you know is not that good compared to the other players. As you keep playing, you may develop this sense that the player has something that works for them; there's a winning repertoire that you have to develop to win at poker. You also have to be prepared to fold the your aces because the flop did not look that good- like three hearts may symbolize someone caught their flush compared to your aces which was very good during pre-flop.
Here's my labeling X means any card, T means ten, J = jack, Q= queen, K= king, and A = ace. Your best starting hands are composed of high double suited pairs like AAKK diamonds hearts or KKQQ clubs spades. They are super good because you get two royal flush draws, two high three-of-a-kind draws, two high straight draw, two high flush draw, and so on. It will most likely add up to the most possible factors in winning the pot at preflop. It's going to be extremely rare to get these hands so it's important to not fold pretty okay hands when you could just call to check the flop. There's also a gambling factor which some people are not comfortable with because you could end up losing your pot that day. It's important to know if you are an average, good, or poor player to make a smart decision for yourself.
It's good to mathematically just minimally call with any two suited cards like two diamonds and two hearts or two clubs and two diamonds and so on. Some hands are weaker than others so you may have to fold pre-flop if it's too much to call. It's best for you to make that type of judgment. It's also good to play with double connectors which are hands that you will give you two up and down straight draws. Like for example, you hold a A2 34 which have double connectors and then the flop gives you 5 6 3. You now have an up and down straight draw with your 3 4 because you just need a 7 or a 2 to make a straight. On the turn let's say you hit a 4 then you have an up and down with A2 but made the nut straight with 2 3. Note you can only use two of your pocket cards and only three of the community cards. Holding the nuts means that you have the best hand for winning the pot. Example you could have a nut flush if you flop it while holding the ace and something suited. Up and down straight draws are pretty good draws but sometimes you have to watch out for a flush draw like there are two hearts. I generally like nut flush draws on the flop and on the turn. If it's too much it might be best to fold unless you are willing to make that gamble. Some people crank it up so much with flush draws and sometimes it's better to manage your money for another pot because you could still be mathematically an underdog to two pairs, a set (three-of-a-kind), a straight, and so on.
I can also call a minimal raise with a starting hand that holds a possible nut flush draw with an ace like A 9 diamonds. In that case, if you flop three diamonds then you have a great possibility of playing to try to make the most return out of that hand. Someone could also call with a lower flush draw and then they may be unsuspecting of your Ace high flush.
One of the hardest to play with in my opinion is with AA XX. It's so hard to distinguish when it's good with this one because the AA is one of the strongest starting hands in poker. However, it's very common for the aces to not hold up in Omaha. When I have aces for a starting hand, I try to figure out all the combinations of the winning draws. If I see enough, then I pretty much crank up the pot and hope for the best. It does deserve to see the flop in most cases.
In Omaha Hi/Lo, it's generally agreed upon that AA2X double suited is one of the most powerful starting hands. I can also pretty much call anything with A2 pre-flop in Omaha Hi/Lo. If you play just Omaha and not with the low then you will probably never split the winning pot. Anyway, if you finished this post which is just one of my thoughts then I wish you the best of luck if you decide to try out poker. It's good to read up a lot on the subject and to be comfortable with losing some hands to people who just got the better draw. The figures do work out in the end but everybody is going to lose at poker so that's what makes poker an intriguing topic in how some people just stay on the profitable margin. I'm just someone who can break even so I just play for fun and not going to come even close to killing myself with a million dollars on the line in poker.
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