Every Texas Hold'em player has some kind of habit or vice when they start playing Omaha. Among these habits, we can mention the act of overvaluing some high pocket pairs and/or top pair situations.
In this article, we will specifically talk about AA in Omaha, a hand that appears strong but will rarely win at showdown.
Omaha is a post-flop game, and it will be difficult to get to showdown with aces. It will be even harder to win with them.
Playing with aces can be tricky, but by following these tips, your life will be easier with the aces.
Your goal is to commit to the pot
Aces in PLO work best when stacks are shorter or when you can get a good portion of the stack in preflop.
With aces your goal is to commit to the pot no matter what the flop is.
How to commit is another matter. It will depend on the stacks, the number of opponents and their tendencies.
Be careful, you need to make sure that your bet will actually commit you. It would be very bad to make a big bet pre-flop and get lost on the flop.
If you find that you won't be able to get enough bet value to commit, it's best to just call and take the aces to the flop to play a cheaper pot or even try to hit a set.
Not all aces are created equal
Just as some boards are better than others, aces also gain and lose strength depending on the cards that accompany them.
Let's look at some examples of good aces in Omaha.
The best ones will have more than one way to win at showdown, and won't just rely on top pair or three of a kind.
Examples:
:Ah :Ad :Th :Jd
:Ac :As :Ks :Qc
:Ad :Ac :5s :5c
To gain strength, aces need to have some extra potential, such as flushes or straights.
Bad Aces
They are exactly the opposite of those seen above. The 4-card hand is extremely dependent on the aces, and will probably not form any game without them.
Example:
:Ad :Ah :7s :2c
These aces will be very difficult to play, and will rarely win anything.
Case study:
PLO Cash Game, with blinds $1/$2 and effective stacks of $400. Two limp in, and the button makes $6.
You have :Ad :Ac :4s :9h on SB.
What should you do?
In this spot, this hand is almost always a call, for the following reasons: the aces are bad, you are out of position, and the stacks are very deep.
Different situation: Let's think about the same game mentioned above, but now the effective stacks are $50. What to do?
In this case, you can commit by putting more than 50% of your stack on the table. Pot-raise your opponents preflop and put the rest on the table on the flop (no matter which one it is)!
Summary
Aces in PLO are on a line that separates an excellent hand from a very bad hand.
They put beginner players through a rough patch almost all the time.
However, if played well, they can certainly be a profitable hand in your Omaha game. Study up on pot commitment, understand the good and bad combinations of aces, and get your money's worth!
English 
Português do Brasil 
Español 