I have been playing exclusively Omaha/8 for a week n this cruise. This is the longest stretch I have ever played Omaha exclusively, and I think I am improving my game. So I have no hold’em thought this week, but I will try to generate an Omaha one.

Players, even some very good ones, make several interesting errors in O/8. Let’s take a look at a couple (I am ignoring the basic errors many players make. Maybe we will look at those someday).

Everyone knows it is an error to draw for half a pot, but there are times when the temptation seems overwhelming. You hold A2KJ. The flop comes 877. There is a bet and a raise (or a bet from a very tight player). This is a fold. Yes I see your draw for the nuts with 16 outs. So what? You are either going to win half or lose it all. Yet player after player tries to draw out in this situation.

In hold’em, most people recognize that playing to win pots is generally a good way to lose money. You do get to yo-yo your stacks and sometimes generate big winning days, but overall it is an error to play a lot of hands.

In Omaha, the error is compounded by the fact that you can win a lot of half-pots. People play mediocre highs and mediocre lows figuring that they will win half most of the time. And they will. But the times they miss added to the times they lose both ways keep them from making money. But since dragging many pots is fun and feels like winning, they keep doing this.

If you do not play anything but hold’em, and you are already a very good hold’em player, you should learn a few new games. Omaha/8 is a good one to start with. Many players who play regularly do not have a very well founded system of play and, just as in hold’em, the fact that someone has played for years and is a regular does not make them a very good player. Plus, in some cases, the Omaha game may be softer than the hold’em ones.