Omaha Hi/lo Defending Blinds
If you generally just call from your blinds position, strong players will raise to ensure you have poor calling pot odds, when they hold strong preflop hands. Also, if you are merely checking to see the flop, many small bind players with poorish hands will enter the pot. A raise is often enough to scare them away in a heads up situation.
You need a more dynamic approach to your game. Keep the other players guessing. By reraising regularly on the big blind, often you will be allowed the luxury of the table folding around you unless they have a strong hand. This gives you a better idea as to what they are holding.
Personally, I usually raise on the big blind when I am exclusively going for the high hand when I am in a multiway pot. The other players may think I have a decent high and low starting hand. If the cards are low, it is an easy fold for me. In a heads up situation with the small blind,I will normally check. If the cards come out high and low, I'm hoping to hit and catch a few big bets when he chasing the low hand which fails to complete.
With multiway pots, chasing the high hand can be good as most of the players will have their eyes firmly on the low hand. If there are six players calling in the pot, a big blind raise will raise everyone to 2 bets. By raising and exclusively chasing the high, you are wanting a high card flop. There should be more high cards left in the pack. To win the pot, there is a likelihood that there will be no low pot, so why not throw in that extra bet?
As you are aware, positional play has a big part in your decision making. If someone comes out with a raise from an early position, they are likely to have a strong preflop hand. If it is reraised again and the raise has chased everyone else out of the pot, you are probably better folding. There will probably be a post flop raise and unless you land you will either fold losing the two bets or find yourself in a chasing position at the risk of losing more.
With several players in the pot, you will receive better pot odds. One bet is generally worth calling, but two or more bets depends on what you are holding. Hands like 3-4-5-8 are usually worth dropping. There is a good chance that all the aces and two's are already out. This reduces your chances of a nut low hand, and you are not in a very good position for the high hand. Low straights and flushes are easily beatable. In a heads up situation, you have more leeway over your hand and the 3-4-5-8 hand becomes a stronger option.
When defending your blinds, its always good to have the opportunity of both the high and low hands, but this is not always the case. When you are in a multiway pot, you will probably need the nut hand to win. The less players in the pot, the better chance you have of winning with a weaker hand.
Judge the players around you, the position of their bets, their style of play, the size of the pot and the strength of your own preflop hand before you decide what to do. If you are playing online, never use the auto call button. If you do, you are not really taking the table information onboard.
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