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Aggression in Omaha |
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December 2007
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When teaching at the WSOP Academy, every instructor preaches one thing: Be aggressive. Aggression is the ultimate equalizer, and during PokerStars' WCOOP, I used an aggressive strategy to accumulate chips and simply run over my opponents.
The biggest benefit of aggression in any game is perhaps the simplest to understand: When you are betting or raising, you can win the pot in one of two ways. Your opponent can fold to your raise and you win the hand at this point, or your opponent can call, in which case you can still win at showdown.
While playing in WCOOP, I utilized this strategy, not only in No Limit Hold’em, but in the event that I won, Pot Limit Omaha. The tournament was a deep-stack event in which everyone had plenty of chips to start; and because of the multitude of chips, I had to adjust my typically aggressive strategy.
If you’re planning on being a successful poker player, there are three specific stages during a tournament when you need to change gears and either hold back or release your aggression. In addition, especially in Omaha, the value of being aggressive during a hand varies with the moment. Becoming more aggressive is not just an instant fi x to make you a great player. You still need the skill to tell you when and where to apply your aggression.
Early in the tournament in any tournament you have to remember that the blinds simply aren’t worth stealing. They are incredibly small and thus when I’m aggressive early on, it’s because I’m holding a hand where I want to build a pot. I’m looking for action. Many people misunderstand this and think that raising on the button with any hand is a good play. But it’s not worth it at this point. However, as the tournament goes on and the blinds get more expensive, that’s when you need to be more aggressive.
Later on in the tournament, when slowly but surely everyone’s stack is getting short compared to the blinds, winning the blinds is no longer meaningless. Especially when the antes start, there’s a reason to steal. Try to steal two pots per orbit, but this shouldn’t be blind aggression. Pick on the players who have the most to lose – the average stacks and the ones who you know will give your raises respect.
Then comes my favorite part: the money bubble. I tend to bust out on the bubble more often than most people because this is when I really turn up the pressure. I found myself raising around 70 percent of the the during WCOOP bubbles, and everyone just kept on folding, hoping to make the money. Once again, although I’m saying to raise the majority of the time, pick on the players who are just trying to squeeze in and those who you know won’t play back at you. Although you can raise all the time, sometimes players will adjust their strategy to your aggression and wait patiently for their spot to pounce.
A bubble also occurs right before the final table where the real money is found. I’m extremely lucky to be without the money pressure that the other players have, and I use this to my advantage every chance I get. When tenth place pays out $4,500 and ninth place pays $9,000, almost every one of those players was doing his best not to be the final table bubble boy. I didn’t have that problem and understood that this gave me an edge that all, or at least many, of my opponents didn’t share.
One thing you can’t misunderstand in Omaha is that your degree of aggression needs to adjust on different streets. In Omaha, your opponents are always afraid that you’re holding the nuts. It’s the nature of the game that draws dominate and, unless you know you’re unbeatable, you’re always searching the board for what can beat you.
Pre-flop aggression works in any game simply because many opponents don’t want to put in a lot of money just to see the flop. Understand that “raise or fold” is not a bad idea at this point. Even if your opponents understand that concept, if they don’t have a hand they’re willing to reraise with, you’re going to get them to fold. The value of preflop aggression is that when your opponents don’t want to take a chance, they won’t play a medium-strong hand. Keep hammering those opponents, but pay attention and use common sense. Stop attacking when you know they won’t fold or back down.
Post-flop is where Omaha is unique in terms of aggression, especially on the river. Being aggressive on the river in Pot Limit Omaha is definitely an art. Players make much stronger hands in Omaha than in Hold’em, and pick up much bigger draws. Your opponents are far more likely to have a good hand, but they’re afraid you might have an even better hand. When did that river card help and when did it scare my opponents? If there are two hearts on the flop and a third one comes on the river, they are all looking for the flush. If they don’t have the nut flush, it might be a perfect card to bluff with. I’m always thinking when they check to me on the river, are they afraid of the heart or do they have the nut flush and are leading me into a trap?
Pay more attention to the board. In Hold’em, if you fl op a set, you’re most likely not going to fold at any point in the hand. I’m going to pay off my opponent when my set gets beat, but you can’t do that in Omaha. If you fl op a set in Omaha, you’re not going to be a long-term winner if you can’t let it go. Protect your big hands in Omaha by being aggressive, but know if they’re calling, you need to watch out for just about every possible combination. If you’re deciding to be aggressive when the scare card comes, you need to make the bluff even though you didn’t make your hand. In a sense, Omaha is a trickier game because almost no matter what the turn and river card are, they’re not blanks.
The next time you’re in a tournament, be aggressive. If you’re having trouble changing gears to use this style of play, come to the WSOP Academy where we’ll help you feel more comfortable with this style. If an aggressive style doesn’t work for you, we’ll help you to make sure you’ll leave with a game that suits you and is tough on your opponents.
You can find Greg’s complete hand history
from his WCOOP championship at his website,
http://www.fossilmanpoker.com. For
more information about Greg’s instruction
at the WSOP academy, head to http://www.
wsopa.com.
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