Here is an interesting startegy article on some of the less known forms of poker care of our friends at Pokerlistings.com. As popular as Texas Holdem is, there are really alot of good alternatives out there with just as much action and fun, enjoy the read:
If you’re tired of playing Texas Holdem and looking for a new poker game, one with big pots, a lot of action, and one that shares some characteristics with the Texas holdem games you know so well, you may want to consider playing pot limit Omaha 8 or better. Pot limit Omaha 8 or better, also known as pot limit Omaha 8/b, is a split game, meaning the best high hand splits the pot with the best low hand, providing that low hand is at least 8 low or better. Since the game is pot limit, players can bet as much as they want up to the amount that is in the pot at that time.
There are two key things to remember when playing pot limit Omaha 8/b. The first is that as with all split pot games, your objective is to scoop the pot, meaning win both the high and the low. This means you should be only entering pots with hands that have a good chance to make the nut high hand and the nut low hand. A pair of aces with two middle cards is usually not good enough to play in pot limit Omaha 8/b.
The other thing to remember is that since the game is played pot limit, you need to bet aggressively to force out any draws that may be against you when you flop a strong hand. A strong hand in Omaha is generally one that is the best on the flop, for example you have 9 9 3 4 and the flop is 9 7 5. or you have 7 8 2 A and the flop is 5 6 9. The best approach in these situations is usually to bet the entire pot. This is because with each opponent having six possible hands against you, virtually any card that might come on the turn or river has a strong potential to give an opponent a better hand. You want to bet as much as you possibly can to prevent this from happening.
It is important to be aware that you may not want to build the pot too much with the nut low. While it will be tempting to jam the pot when you have half of it locked up, keep in mind that very often, someone else will have the same nut low as you, as all players will see flops with hands that contain A 2 or A 3. This means that you may have to split your half with someone else, also called “getting quartered,” a real scare-word within poker strategy If this happens, every chip you put in the pot when there are three people or fewer in the hand will cost you money, assuming you do not also have the high hand. Since pot limit pots can grow quickly, you can actually lose a great deal of money with a nut hand.
As you can see, pot limit Omaha 8/b can be a tricky game to play. What this means however, is that if you master it, you have a great chance of building a nice size bankroll with the help of more inexperienced opponents in these poker games.
