Flopping Trips in Omaha8
Most Omaha Hi/low players come from a Texas Holdem background. In holdem, flopping a set is usually a superb hand. However, in Omaha8, the set is not quite so strong. There are so many straight run opportunities, flush draw, higher Trips. If you have little or no claim to the low hand, be careful. Trips can easily be beaten by the river. Even if the board pairs off, giving you a full house, often you may find you have the lower full house.
Look at the board, check to see if there is a flush draw. Check to see if the board cards can be connected or likely to be by the river.
I would usually only play a trips hand aggressively if I was holding the high card trips, with a non threatening board. I would push hard to reduce the field. I am playing the hand while I am officially in the lead. One wrong card on the turn or river could undo your hand in an instant.
Again, with a nut low draw, its worth the investment into the pot. In Omaha8, your rarely find yourself with a cast iron certainty before the river. The key to playing these types of hands is to get the money into the middle while you know you are in the lead, but also be aware of your options. If you are playing for a half share of the pot, you better hope your high hand holds up. Make a quick calculation as to how many cards could undo your hand.
Always be aware that playing for half a pot limits your payout potential. If the hand you are holding gets overturned by the river, then you are onto plums. If you are playing for the high, and there are already 3 low cards on the board, you are unlikely to scoop the pot holding a vulnerable set. In these situations, a one bet call is fine, but any more than that, put your thinking cap on. If you call a one bet raise and someone raises behind you, you are effectively calling a 2 bet raise.
If you are holding J-J-K-5 and the flop shows 2-4-J rainbow, go ahead and call but be careful. The chances are, you are only playing for the high hand, and it is vulnerable to possible low straights. I wouldn't raise with this hand because I want to keep all the players in the pot. If the board pairs off, I will probably have the nut high. I can push confidently. If the low hand then comes out, I can still get good value from the pot by forcing a multiway battle with the other players who are hanging in the pot for their share of the low, while I take good advantage of the inflated pot by collecting the high half.
If 2 or three high cards come out, you are playing for the scoop. If the cards are not connected, you can push the play. Be wary of flush opportunities and adjust your play according to the cards.
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