As the odds of making quads in Omaha increase, the odds of making a royal flush of course also increase. I think I made a royal flush one or twice during the three years I played Hold’em online, and yesterday I made my first one in four months of playing Omaha. Nice detail is the fact it was the first hand I played after I sat down on that particular table:

This shows exactly why making a royal flush is seldom very profitable: when the board doesn’t pair there’s only a small chance you’re against a strong hand of one of your opponents. That’s the difference with a ‘normal’ straight flush: there’s always a chance you are going to be paid by an A-high flush. However, I won my big pot on another hand, with an ABSOLUTE dreamflop:

I like to limp when possible with those kinda hands on the button. The flop is really awesome: I flop the nuts (with the wheel) AND I have middle set so my hand is protected against a pairing board (as somebody holding aces is very unlikely with an unraised pot) AND it’s a rainbow flop, so I’m also kinda protected against a flush. So I’m very happy to see another player lead out and this is one of those rare spots where you don’t put in a pot sized bet, but you want to keep the players in and make a big pot. But I’m getting reraised and I’m of course all-in: I know it’s a split pot for sure at this moment but I can improve. River is sweet.

Song of the day:

The Move - Fields of People (Shazam, 1970)

Maybe that’s the most important rule in Pot Limit Omaha. Your hand, or even your draw, can look so gigantic, but you always have to keep in mind that your opponent also has four cards in the hole and probably also has a (very) big hand when betting big. I have an extraordinary example for you from a game I played yesterday:

If you’re a beginning Omaha player you’ll wonder why my money isn’t out there in the middle. Well, I’m almost sure my opponent has hit a one-outer on the turn and I would have doubled up for sure probably with any other card on the turn. So I flop the second nuts and as soon as my opponent bets the (small) pot on the flop I know he has a 2. So I raise, knowing he’s going to call anyway and hoping he improves to a full house. Turn is the one card I didn’t wanna see: if he has a high pair he would probably have raised preflop and not called my raise on the flop so you can be sure in this case that your opponent has quads.

In the next hand the situation is the other way around: I have quads (I told you, this happens often in PLO) and my opponent has the nut full house:

I have two paired cards in the hole so I put in a minimum raise, in that way I can defend my set on the flop if I hit it. Instead I flop quads^^. I check again, just like I showed last time when I flopped quad aces, with the purpose of letting somebody else to pick something. This hand shows exactly why this is a good play: my opponent turns aces full. I just know he has a strong hand and that’s why I check the river with quads: he will bet for sure. I love PLO. And I love the song of today:

My Morning Jacket - One in the same (It Still Moves, 2003)