I have a secret. You want to know how to build a stack in a limit Omaha 8 tournament? Play like a maniac. Before you stop reading thinking I've lost my mind, let me explain. Early in a tournament, the blinds and pots are usually small. You can win 2 pots every orbit and barely increase the size of your stack in the first hour. If you play like a maniac, however, all of a sudden those pots become bigger. You're probably thinking “sure they are bigger but if you lose all of your chips in the other 8 hands, the two pots you win won't make it worthwhile.”
And here is where my secret lies... the key is to be a pre-flop maniac. Raise it up as much as possible pre-flop but make smart, calculated plays post-flop. The advantages of this style are that when you do win a pot, it will be a substantial increase in your stack. Additionally, you are going to find yourself getting played back at a lot post-flop. Your opponents are typically not going to realize that you are only playing like an idiot pre-flop. You can start betting and raising with the nuts post-flop and they are going to raise and re-raise you.
Here is what you do. Raise no matter what your first four cards are the first hour of the tournament. It doesn't matter if you have 2-2-2-2. It doesn't matter if it's three bets to you already. Raise. What you are trying to do is get as much money in the pot pre-flop as you can for when you have an actual hand that merits going to show down. If you only raise the legitimate hands pre-flop, your raises will get respect. By raising every hand, you've eliminated any respect you'll ever have. You've turned into Rodney Dangerfield.
I'm going to go over the first hour of a tournament I played the other day at Full Tilt Poker to illustrate my point. This was a 3K guaranteed $24+2 tournament with 170 entrants and the top 18 getting paid. I ended up taking 5th for $320 (it should have been more but I'm not going to turn this into a bad beat story) and was chip leader from early on in the tournament until the final table.
Hand #1 – We started with 3,000 in chips and the blinds at 15/30. I raise one limper with J-6-4-2. I end up reaching a showdown and winning the low and my hand is shown. Good... advertising!
Hand #2 – I raise 3 limpers with 8-7-5-2. Six of us see the flop and there is 360 in the pot already. Can you see how this works? If I had just limped in, the pot would have only had 180 in it. If I hit any kind of draw on the flop, I will be getting 12:1 on my money to call one bet. I flop an open ended straight draw on the flop and call a bet but fold on the turn when three clubs get put on the board and there is heavy action before it gets to me. Down to 2,895.
Hand #3 – I raise two limpers with 6-5-3-2 (ok, this is actually a decent Omaha 8 hand). It is re-raised and two people call the re-raise. I make it four bets and five of us see the flop. There is 690 in the pot... just scooping this amount will add nearly 20% to my stack. I flop two pair and a straight draw but end up folding on the river when the board pairs the card I didn't have a pair of. Down to 2,595.
Hand #4 – I raise with K-5-5-4. A player three bets it and gets two callers. I make it four bets and SIX of us see the flop. There is 780 in the pot. I would say that I have set the table up for what I want. No respect. Lots of pre-flop action. Lots of people involved. Perfect. I end up folding on the flop and am down to 2,475 but that's ok. My hand is coming.
Hand #5 – I raise with Q-Q-2-2 and four of us see the flop. The flop comes Q-10-6 with two clubs. I check but everyone else checks as well. The turn is an ace. I bet and get three callers. The river is a jack. Not a good card so I check as does everyone else. I scoop the pot and am up to 2,850.
Hand #6 – I raise with K-Q-J-5 and only get one caller. I fold post-flop on an all low board.
Hand #7 – I raise with K-8-5-2. A player re-raises me. I four bet it. By the time we see the flop there are five of us and 675 in the pot. I fold post-flop when I get none of it.
Hand #8 – I raise out of the big blind with Q-10-4-2. The three limpers all call. The flop comes A-J-4 with two spades. My Q-4 is in spades. It is checked around. The turn is the 
. I call a bet from one player. The river is a 5, giving me the nut low to go with my 2nd nut flush. I raise my opponent's bet and he calls. He has only the nut low and I win ¾ of the pot and have 2,950 in chips.
Hand #9 – I raise with A-A-6-3. Oops, I have a real hand this time. Four of us see the 10-7-4 flop. I bet and am raised. I call as does one other person. The turn is a 5 giving me the 2nd nut low and a low straight. I check raise the pre-flop bettor and he calls. The river is a dream card... a 2. I bet and my opponent calls with his 9-6-5-3. He splits the high end with me and I scoop the low end and have 3,250 in chips.
Hand #10 – I raise with Q-Q-8-5 and six of us see the flop which is 10-8-8. I call bets on the flop and turn and five of us see the river. The board now reads 10-8-8-3-7 and even though I don't like it, I call a bet on the river because of the size of the pot. I end up winning the high end and now have 3,630 in chips. Ten hands played and a 20% increase in my stack size. So far so good.
Hand #11 – I raise with A-2-7-9. Five of us see the 6-5-4 flop. I call a bet and three players see the turn which is a queen. I raise and three of us see the river which is a king. They both check to me... I bet... and they both fold. Sweet! Up to 4,190.
OK now that you get the point, I'm just going to list the hands I raised with and how many chips I had at the end of the hand. Assume I raised pre-flop... because I did.
Hand #12 – A-5-9-Q: 4,510
Hand #13 – J-J-7-3: 4,260
Hand #14 – A-2-8-10: 5,372
Hand #15 – K-J-J-6: 4,972
Hand #16 – K-J-9-7: 4,872
Hand #17 – 3-4-5-6: 6,282
As you can see, I have doubled my starting stack in 17 hands. Most of it was because people weren't paying attention. They didn't realize that post-flop I was playing reasonably and continued to pay me off with hands as bad as one pair or third nut lows.
Hand #18 – A-A-J-6: 7,002
Hand #19 – A-4-5-Q: 6,762
Hand #20 – 9-6-4-2: 6,462
The following hand is a perfect example of what I'm talking about:
Hand #21 – I raise with A-K-10-2. Even maniacs get a hand now and then. :) Four of us see a capped flop and there is 1,170 in the pot. The flop comes Q-J-5 rainbow and I have a wrap draw coupled with a back door low draw. It is capped and three players see the turn... a glorious 9. Capped again with three players again. The river doesn't change my fortunes any as it is a 10. No flushes are possible and it's capped again between the three of us. I figure I am going to be chopping it one way, maybe even two... but nope... one player has Q-Q-6-6 (you think they would know a set is no good there) and the other has A-10-5-3 for two pair (man, people play so bad). I scoop the pot and have 9,612. I have tripled up already.
It's at this point that I decide to tighten up. That's another key concept with this style... if you reach a certain point, there is no point in continuing. I'm probably not going to top this mark in the first hour, and I'm content with the stack that I have built. The beauty of this style though is people aren't going to recognize that I quit raising pre-flop every hand. I'll still get played back at when I do raise pre-flop and this will let me win more big pots. In fact, on the last hand before the break I hit a wheel and scoop a big pot to put me at 13,372. I have over four times my starting stack in one hour.
The important thing to remember when doing this is to do it every hand. If you fail to do that, you won't set up the big pot. It also requires that you know what you are doing post-flop. If you are the type of player that chases a lot of 2nd best hands, your goal should be to keep the pots small to minimize the amount you lose. It is also a highly volatile style and there will be times where you end up busting out early because you can't win a hand. It's a risk worth taking though as the times you do build a stack (like I did in this tournament), the payout you receive will make up for the times you bust out early.
The next time you play a limit Omaha 8 tournament try being a pre-flop maniac. I think you might be surprised at how well it works.