Omaha Giving Free Cards
Thinking of giving a free card in Omaha, think twice!
In Omaha it’s not usually a good idea to give free cards if you have a good made hand. The main reason for this is that with 4 cards there’s a big chance that one or more of your opponents has got at least some piece of the flop, be that a flush and/or straight draw or also some made hand.
Got a hand, make your opponents pay
If you have top two pair or a set it’s usually a big mistake to give these hands a free card, not only would you be letting potentially strong draws see another card for free, but you could also be allowing the disaster of someone hitting a gutshot or a set with a hand that they would have or at least should have folded if you had bet. Furthermore, there are many more ways for someone to hit backdoor straight and flush draw in Omaha than there is in Hold Em.
Ask the question with a bet
Even with top and bottom pair, you should bet your hand and not give a free card, you might think well it’s not really a strong hand, and yeah you would be right, but there’s still a reasonable chance that you are ahead and you need to ask that question in the form of a bet. If someone comes back over the top then stack size depending of course, you will probably have to fold. Betting two pairs in this case is fine as long as you are also betting better hands like a set, that way players can’t automatically put you on a hand.
Be selective about the times you give a free card
If you are going to give free cards the best time to do it is against just one or two opponents where giving them a free card is less dangerous as the possibility than if you were playing against 3 or more players, especially in cases where your opponent(s) are the type to see every check as a sign of weakness, then depending on stack sizes and the actual strength of your hand checking with the intention of check raising can be a profitable move.
Give opportunity to catch up when you have a board lock
Other times to give free cards of course include when you have a lock or virtually a lock on the board. Say you have the pleasant site of flopping four-of-a-kind, since you have the big guns in your hand it can be difficult to extract more cash in this case, often times the best way to play this is to slow play it, checking the flop in the hope that someone improves to hit a full house perhaps, perhaps someone with K-K-x-x, if they are ‘lucky’ enough to turn a King then it’s going to be virtually impossible for them to get away from their hand.
Other times to give free cards of course include when you have a lock or virtually a lock on the board. Say you have the pleasant site of flopping four-of-a-kind, since you have the big guns in your hand it can be difficult to extract more cash in this case, often times the best way to play this is to slow play it, checking the flop in the hope that someone improves to hit a full house perhaps, perhaps someone with K-K-x-x, if they are ‘lucky’ enough to turn a King then it’s going to be virtually impossible for them to get away from their hand.
Filled up, don’t hold back!
Flopping an overfull is a prime example of a great hand where you should not give a free card. Say you have A-A-x-x and the board flops A-8-8, with this type of board and especially against several opponents, there is every chance that one player has got an 8 and that being the case there is a great chance that they will call at least one street with their trips, you should definitely make them pay for this privilege. You might even be lucky enough to find a player holding A-8-x-x, slow-playing this hand is pointless when there is the very real possibility that you can get extract some money right now from betting it.
