Here are some important probabilities in Omaha that returns in different situations. Knowledge about probabilities will help you to better evaluate situations in poker. You will , for example, know when you should call and when you shouldn't, and, vice versa, know when to fold and when the odds are in your favor.

Table 1. **Playing situations**
Drawing hands probabilities	Odds	Percent
Double wraparound straight draw (e.g. hand: 9-8-5-4, flop: 7-6-x)	0.48-1	68%
Wraparound straight draw (e.g. hand: 8-5-4-x, flop: 7-6-x)	0.67-1	60%
Straight flush draw	0.84-1	54%
Hitting a full house with three pairs	3-1	24%
Hitting a full house with two pairs	5.1-1	16.5%
Hitting quads with a set	21.5-1	4.5%

Starting hands

In Omaha the best starting hand (A♥ A♠ K♥ K♠) is only 33% to win (41% to tie) against the second-best starting hand (A♦ A♣ T♦ J♣). There is only a 6% edge for the best Omaha hand to win against the second-best Omaha hand, versus the 66% edge in Hold'em. The lower down the list the Omaha starting hand is versus the best, the more. In poker, a marginal hand is a hand that is neither strong nor weak. That is, there’s a small chance of it being a winning hand once the community cards are dealt. Marginal hands tend to have one-card gaps (two cards that are two ranks apart) between them, be of different suits or have lower numbers. Knowing what hands to play preflop is key to your poker success! The hands you play preflop are the starting point of your game. A poor preflop strategy is like building a house on quicksand – you will go nowhere quickly. There is a very good reason engineers dig a deep hole when building skyscrapers – you need a solid foundation. The best starting hands in poker are AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ and more holdings like this. The reason why they are the best starting hands is because they are statistically most likely to win the pot at showdown. You can improve your winnings in poker dramatically by focusing on playing hands like this. These statistics were compiled by a major online poker room from an expected value page from their database of millions of real live hands. Positive expectation hands are indicated by black numbers while negative expectation hands are indicated by red numbers.

There are many starting hands in Omaha (16.432 if not all suit combinations are counted), which makes it difficult to get an overview. Table 2 will hopefully increase that overview a bit.

Table 2. **Starting hand versus average hand**
Situation	Percent
A-A-K-K double suited to win against average hand	73%
A-A-K-K rainbow to win against average hand	68%
A-A-7-7 double suited to win against average hand	72%
A-A-7-7 rainbow to win against average hand	67%
A-A-J-T double suited to win against average hand	76%
A-A-J-T rainbow to win against average hand	71%
J-T-9-8 double suited to win against average hand	56%
J-T-9-8 rainbow to win against average hand	49%

Comments

Exemple of a double suited hand: Q♥ A♥ 2♦ K♦
Exemple of a rainbow hand: Q♥ A♣ 2♠ K♦
The best Omaha hands are less bigger favorites against an average hand compared to Texas Hold'em.
In Texas Hold'em, common knowledge is that A-A is very big favorite against all other hands. In Omaha, A-A as a part of a hand is far from that strong. In general, an A-A-x-x hand versus a random four-card hand is a 70-30 favorite in average (if all the starting hands that are normally folded are excluded, the A-A-x-x hands will be even less favorites).

Made hands versus draws

A typical feature in an Omaha Hi game is a set against a hand with several drawing possibilities. The made hand will not be a very big favorite (sometimes it is an underdog), so the recommended strategy is to play fast and bet/raise the pot in these situations.

Table 3. **Made hand versus drawing hand**
Situation	Percent
Top set against flush draw	70%-30%
Middle set against flush draw	70%-30%
Top set against flush draw + two pairs	68%-32%
Set against wraparound straight draw	52%-48%
Set against double wraparound straight draw	53%-47%

No decimals are used. The numbers are only approximal.

Comments

Factors that can affect the odds are for example blocking cards.

Flush draws versus straight draws

In Omaha, hands with flush draws are often more likely to win than straight draws.

Table 4. **Drawing hands**
Situation	Percent
Flush draw against wraparound	60%-40%
Flush draw against double wraparound	55%-45%

No decimals are used. The numbers are only approximal.

Comments

Since that many cards are in action, there are often combined possibilities, which makes it hard to give general percentages. A hand with a flush draw has mostly something else, like a pair or a straight draw as well.

Tip #1 - Open it Up

The first tip you need is to open up your starting hand ranges. Since you only have two players at the table, the average starting hand that sees the flop is going to be much worse than at a normal 9-handed table. Because of this you should open up your starting hand range.

You can't afford to wait for premium hands while playing heads up because you're in the blinds every hand. I recommend playing the majority of your hands as the big blind, and playing damn near every single hand when you're the dealer. Beirut casino poker no deposit. Learn more differences between heads up and 9 handed poker.

Tip #2 - Play Your Position

Position becomes a huge factor in heads up poker, because you are either in the best position or in the worst position every hand: there is no in between. Like I mentioned before, I recommend playing every single hand when you're in dealer position. When you're the dealer, you'll post the small blind, act first preflop, and act last on the flop and beyond. When you're the small blind, you'll post the big blind, act last preflop, and act first on the flop and beyond.

Because of this, you want to be really aggressive preflop as the dealer, and raise with a wide range of hands (think any pocket pair, any suited connector, and two big cards, etc). Also, you should be more conservative as the big blind, and respect raises from the dealer.

Tip #3 - Remember Hand Values

As I mentioned in tip #1, the starting hand values go way up in heads up poker. The same goes for showdown hands. The average winning hand in heads up poker will be much worse than the average winning hand at a 9-handed game, so adjust accordingly. Even hands like middle pair or second worst pair are still decent hands and will probably win an uncontested pot, so bet them out.

Tip #4 - Semi-Bluff When Possible

A great way to pick up a bunch of pots in heads up poker is by firing out smallish bets into un raised pots. When I'm playing heads up I like to bet a ton of flops as long as I get any piece; even a straight draw or bottom pair is worth taking a shot on the flop. If my opponent calls I'll slow down, but most passive opponents will toss basically any hand but top pair or maybe second pair to a bet.

Tip #5 - Spot Bluff Attempts

This is basically the opposite of the above tip. If you're playing an aggressive opponent, you'll have to make a stand to prevent constant semi-bluffs and preflop raises. I like to re-raise on occasion preflop, and to call the majority of the flop bets to see if my opponent will bet again on the turn and river. Even if you only have middle pai

Average Starting Hand In Poker