Speedyfold Poker Blog

No-Limit Omaha - Right or Wrong?

PokerStars have recently started to offer NL Omaha tournaments. Part of me considers this sacriledge to the great game (PLO). Part of me thinks, oh well, it’s not that bad. But what’s the reality. Friend or Foe? Right or Wrong?

Omaha is a game played fast enough and loose enough as it is. NL Omaha is almost encouring recklessness and coin-flip lotteries. Of course it can be played in a refined manner too, but that seems rare. Just one hyper aggressive player at the table can change the whole dynamics of Omaha. And that isnt rare. Full Stack launches of 20-30BBs seem common place, and value-bets seem to have been fully abandoned in favor of the 5x Pot size launch when the draw comes in.

Part of me wants to attribute this to the fact that NLO is in itself to blame. IE the game has caused the bad play. But really I think it is the NL tag alone. Suddenly NL Holdem players are signing up for Omaha, and are clueless really. Launching chips around with shear abandon. The PL and Limit tags on any game had them running for the hills, but suddenly the NL prefix turns the tourney into fair game for the NLHE loyalists….or so it certainly seems.

Now, as all good players should agree, this should be considered a good thing, not bad. The more reckless donks and hopeless fish the better. So do you give up the pureness of PLO for an unnatural yet potentially very +EV game? The jury is most definately out on that one.