Weak straights in Omaha

Pot Limit Omaha / Marcus Bateman / 24 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

Weak straights are perhaps the king of these hands in this game - sucking you in and spitting you out very fast if you are used to Hold'em and just can't see the dangers they present in a game like Omaha.

Arguably the most dangerous hand you can flop in Omaha in a weak straight. 'Weak' straights simply refer to any straight that is not the nut straight, and it's danger lies in the fact that it is strong enough to get you in involved in big pots on occasion, yet weak enough that you are frequently in an immensely dangerous position with it later on in the hand.

The key problem with this hand is that it is usually very far ahead of hands like badly played over pairs/two pair, sometimes OK against sets and weak draws, and in huge trouble against the nut straight or massive combo draws. Of all of these, the second two are the most likely range if you start getting a lot of action, and this makes the hand extremely difficult to play over multiple streets.

The thought that you could just be ahead is a very dangerous one in poker is you are not extremely skilled, as it often forces you into becoming a calling station in situations where good players never pay you off when the shoe is on the other foot. Weak straights are perhaps the king of these hands in this game - sucking you in and spitting you out very fast if you are used to Hold'em and just can't see the dangers they present in a game like Omaha.

That being said, these hands do some value, and understanding the spots where you can feel good getting all in with them is crucial to success. There are a few key spots where pretty much any straight is worth getting it in with.

Any non deep stacked re-raised heads up pot is usually a good time to get it in with these hands - your opponent's range starts to have far too many hands in it that you crush to ever make such a fold profitable without very specific reads. Against severely tilting/spewy players these hands often become good bluff catchers - able to extract lots of value from players firing too many barrels with too little. Finally, any extremely shallow shove compared to the pot is fine to get these hands in - getting good odds more than compensates how often you may be behind.

Much like aces, weak straights provide a genre of hands that really separate good players from bad in Omaha. Understanding when to get aggressive with these hands and when to back down entirely is crucial to long term success in the game, and these hands can cost you a small fortune if not treated with a healthy dose of caution.

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