PokerWorks

That's it. I'm officially done with Hold 'Em.

OK, OK. For a month.

I'll never give it up completely. You can't and play poker these days. If you ever want to play live, you'd better play Hold 'Em, and online, Hold 'Em is still king.

But, man, the games are getting tight, it's still on TV all the time, and...and....yaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnn. Sorry. I just got bored talking about it.

OK, so what do you do when you're sick of the king of poker? Play another game.

You've heard that before. You've heard all the reasons why you should learn other games. I don't really buy the idea that you *MUST* learn all the games in order to become a TRUE poker player. Sorry, but if you can win a lot at Hold 'Em, why would you throw your money away at Stud?

Given that, I'm not here in this Boot Camp installment to convince you to learn all the games at poker.

But I am here to convince you to learn one more.

You've just GOT to learn how to play Omaha.

In fact, I've declared April to be Omaha-Only Month in the Pokerpeaker household. I might play Hold 'Em a bit in tournaments, but when I pony up to the cash games, my usual haunt, then I'm only playing Omaha this month.

Just so you know, I'm talking about Omaha-Hi only here, but I'm guessing Omaha-8 would pertain to many of these observations.

Why? Here's why:

• There's more action - Omaha is called the crack of poker, and for good reason. Poker junkies love it. All those hands out there surely call for a lot more betting. Omaha is a big magnet that pulls chips into the center of the table.

• Players just aren't good - Omaha reminds me of when I first got into Hold 'Em in 2004-05. The players just aren't nearly as educated in Omaha as they are in Hold 'Em these days. If you know Omaha, you can make a lot of money at the lower limits, where I play (if you're curious, that's .10/.25 or occasionally .25/.50).

• It's a lot of fun - There are so many possibilities, it's hard to get bored with the game, and I doubt you'll just sit there and fold pre-flop for hours, as you can in Hold 'Em.

• Occasionally, Omaha is easier - A lot of times it's easier to fold. If you have two pair, and that third card comes down that makes a straight or flush, and your opponent bets out, that can be a tough fold in Hold 'Em because you're not sure if your opponent is just representing a hand or actually has it. You can pitch it without even thinking about it in Omaha because sure enough, he or she has it. If the board is paired, you can almost count on a full house. The mystery just isn't there as much.

• It's pot-limit, not push and pray - A pot-limit game requires a lot more post-flop skill, and I love that about Omaha. It's also much easier to control the pot, so you won't get pushed around as much.

And here are a few tips for Omaha-Hi to get you started:

• A-A is not that great - Heads up, A-A is still great, but good luck getting heads-up in a pot-limit game with a lot of possible playable starting hands. Your only hope is to re-raise a raise in late position or limp in early position and re-pop a raise that comes later.

Even then, just to show you I'm not an expert yet, I still really have no idea how to play A-A in Omaha. I've pushed with A-A quite a bit to isolate and been called, and beaten, by weaker starting hands too many times to count. Unless the hand is double suited, I'm of the mind to just call with A-A or raise just once in late position and hope I flop a set. What do you think?

• Look for four cards that work together - Cards that are double-suited or four to a straight are what I'm talking about. Big pairs, preferably with double suits, are great too. However...

• Try to draw to the nuts - So beware of hands like 4-5-6-7 that are double suited. I'd play this hand for straight possibilities, but if I had a flush, I'd be extremely careful. Higher flushes are common. You always want to draw to the nuts in Omaha so you don't lose a lot of money with baby flushes and the ass-ends of straights. If you do have those hands, proceed with caution.

• Get used to making "huge" Hold 'Em laydowns - The board changes on every street. That turned third flush card just ruined your straight, and when the board paired on the river, that just ruined his flush. You can't get married to bottom or even middle set or flopped straights, and don't even consider a fling with two-pair, unless it's top two-pair, and even then, take her to dinner and that's it.

There are no long-term commitments in Omaha. Get ready to fold hands in Omaha that you'd take to the chapel in Hold 'Em.

• Don't ever slowplay - If you flop quads, you might want to check your hand. Otherwise, bet, bet, bet your hand, even if you flop a full house. This is a pot-limit game, so you have to build a pot in order to win a big pot. Plus what may look like the nuts at the time really isn't, especially if you don't any redraws to a flush or a full house.