In any form of poker there are strategy differences between cash game and tournament play. The nature of Pot Limit Omaha play, with 4 hole-cards and the potentially large betting increases between rounds exaggerates these strategic differences. This article looks at the various stages of a typical Pot Limit Omaha tournament and suggests how your play should be adjusted for each.
The Early Stages.
This is the time to identify and take chips from the weaker opponents, the blinds will be small relative to your stack and pots will tend to be multi-way. It is important to pay attention to opponents at all stages of the tournament – but especially in the early stages.
Which opponents are playing too many hands and going to far in the betting with thin values? Are there any opponents who do not understand the ‘2 from your hand and 3 from the board rule’? Which players play their drawing hands aggressively and which ones tend to just call?
The key to the early stages of a Pot Limit Omaha tournament is to accumulate chips. Once the blinds start to rise your options will be limited as you will often be all-in on the flop or turn. During the early stages you should look for favorable situations with nut hands or many nut outs and play those hands strongly – the best time to accumulate chips is while the weak opponents are still in the game.
The Middle Stages
As the blinds increase you will start to find your post-flop options more limited. Larger pre-flop betting will mean big pots can develop very quickly. Your reads on opponents during the early stages become important now, as does your ability to exercise control over the size of the pot.
During the middle stages of a Pot Limit Omaha tournament the relative stack sizes of you and the others in the hand become as important as the cards that you hold. Very small stacks and very large ones are more likely to call your all-in raises. Medium-sized stacks may be more willing to fold without a nut hand.
Pot Limit Omaha starting hands are closer in value than many other forms of poker – you will rarely be a huge favorite before the flop. Even after the flop common match-ups such as trips against a straight and flush draw are close. This leads to situations in which you face a big bet as either a small favorite or a big underdog. In these situations you should aim to be the aggressor rather than the caller. If you are the one raising then you have an additional way to win the pot – your opponent can fold. When calling an all in bet you must show down the best hand.
The Bubble
There are several strategy adjustments at the bubble of a Pot Limit Omaha tournament. Firstly you should be looking for those small to medium stacked opponents who are looking to fold into the money. The chips of such opponents are there for the taking and timely raises to steal blinds, or even re-stealing their late position raises, can increase your stack significantly. Conversely you should avoid playing big pots with the extra large stacked opponents who can bust you out of the tournament.
The payout scale of poker tournaments is usually skewed to the first few places. When playing the bubble you should bear this in mind. If you find yourself in a positive expectation position – for example with a strong holding against a possible bluff – then you should not shy away just to get through the bubble. Making the final table will show a healthy profit, sneaking through the bubble with a short stack will rarely pay more than twice your buy-in.
The Final Table
Stack sizes, stack sizes and stack sizes dictate your Pot Limit Omaha final table strategy. At this point in the tournament blinds and antes are likely to be huge compared to the stacks of most players. Note the very small stacks, these opponents will be looking to move up the pay-scale. Also note the very large ones who will be looking to ‘bully’ the table (especially the medium stacks) for more chips.
Your position relative to the other player’s stacks will dictate your strategy to a large extent. At the final table being the aggressor rather than the caller becomes even more effective. Your opponent’s fear of missing out on one of the higher paying places will tend to make them less likely to call your big bets.
As the number of players goes down so should your starting hand requirements. With 5 players remaining the blinds will come around too fast to enable you to wait for premium starting hands. While the hands with which you open pots can be weaker than at a full table the hands with which you call raises should still have some substance to them. Whether raising or calling try to ensure you have hands in which the 4 cards all work together to give you multiple ways to hit the flop. Watch out bets during the pre-flop and flop rounds that commit more than half of your opponents chips – those bets should be treated as ‘all-in’ as your opponent is now committed to the pot.
Heads-Up At The End.
To win a Pot Limit Omaha Tournament you need to beat your last opponent heads-up. While your exact strategy is affected by how many chips you each have but there are several adjustments to make. Firstly you can play more hands in position – that is raise from the button as you will be last to act after the flop. Being last to act lets you see your opponents move before you act and conveys a huge advantage.
Secondly relative hand values go down significantly. Top pair on the flop becomes playable heads-up where it should usually be folded to action during the early rounds. Likewise non-nut flush draws go up in value. The chances of a single opponent having exactly the right cards to beat you are far less likely.
