REPRESENTING THE NUTS IN OMAHA

The Nuts - Omaha Poker

High level Omaha poker players fear the nuts. Given the huge number of cards out there they see the best hand so frequently that they can’t help but try to avoid paying it off. This means that they do a lot of their folding on the river. The caveat is that by the river they will have hit enough cards that value calls are often in order.

With this in mind and regardless of what cards you are holding, if there is a flop with two connectors and a gap such 6-7-4 you should bet the pot. This will signal that you have the nuts. If the other person had it he would raise you, if not on the flop then on the turn. If he had open ended and thought that you were making a semi-bluff he may try to fold you on the turn when he expects that you will check. Provided that the straight doesn’t fill in on the turn you should bet pot again. This will help you avoid being pushed out by the drawer.

There is a chance that he was calling on a straight draw. If this was the case then he will have to fold when on the river you bet pot and he has a maximum of two pair. The other chance is that he had trips or two pair on the flop. If so he will probably call you unless you are sure to bet at least pot again. In either case you know that you can not win by showdown and so you need to bet. Most experienced players will fold here. Do not try this at a low limit table or against a calling station when you play poker online.

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