Five Common Mistakes New Players Make In Omaha Poker

Everyone has to start somewhere, right? This means even in Omaha poker, one of the world's most popular poker games. Beginners make mistakes, that is how they learn. Let us take a look at five of the most common mistakes that novice poker players make in Omaha poker.

1. Overvaluing High Cards
Players who are new to the game and are used to playing Texas Hold em poker often make the mistake of placing too much value on high cards. For example, 2-3-J-J of all different suits is not a great starting hand despite the pair of jacks. Do not forget that each player has nine cards to choose their best hand from instead of seven - meaning there is more of a chance of hitting much higher hands such as straights and flushes.

2. Over-Bluffing
It is much harder to bluff in Omaha, especially if you have absolutely nothing - in fact, it would be very unwise to do so as one of your opponents is sure to have hit something on the flop considering that you have 4 starting cards. Do not be tempted unless you are very confident the other person is drawing dead, or your bluff will be sure to backfire.

3. Playing Above Your Limit
The pot sizes in poker can often be a lot higher than in Texas Hold em poker. Therefore, if you are new to Omaha and are playing cash games make sure you choose your level wisely or it could end up being very expensive. A handy tip is to start at half the normal stakes you would play in normal Hold em poker and build your way up from there.

4. Not Taking Note of Position
Position is a very important factor to consider in Omaha poker at all times. New players tend to raise out of position, which may not be so bad in Hold em if you have a great hand, but is not too clever in Omaha poker. It gives the other players clues to your hands, and as there are so many out for each player, due to the increased number of hole cards everyone receives, you can end up in a bit of a mess with a bad hand if you raise too much early on.

5. Knowing When to Hold em and When to Fold em
Therefore, you have a straight draw or a low flush. In Hold em, these hands are super valuable and you would very rarely consider laying them down. However, in Omaha, sometimes it is necessary to lay these hands down. If there are tons of outs on the table, or your opponent is re-raising super aggressively, you may want to consider your hand strength. This is a tricky situation, but many newbies lose a lot of money by not being able to lay down losing hands that are disguised as winning ones.

These are just a few tips that will help improve your game, sometimes if you start playing Omaha often playing a lot of Texas Hold em, it can be hard to shake playing styles and habits. However, after some trial and error playing Omaha should become second nature. Good Luck.