Customer Reviews

Winning Omaha/8 Poker

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This has been my most successful review so I have revised it one year later.
Bought this with a lot of expectations. As you are all aware there is very little in the way of books on this subject. The definitive work is Ray Zee's Advanced Omaha Hilo which is several years old. Why so few books, the reason I would guess is that although the starting hands are straight forward (A2 anything basically) how to adjust your play to the board is key to the game and this variable is hard to cover in a commercially readible/viable book. (I.e. what to do v the 1000s of hand permutations).
Alas that's the problem here there is nothing new that I have read that is not already covered in Zee's work. In fact Zee's book contains more advanced plays and a much more comprehensive hand selection, and has a superb Q&A format at the end of each chapter. You also get the balance of the book on Stud Hilo for "free".
There are some sparse chapters on the internet and psychological aspects in this new publication which are more adequately covered in basic Holdem texts, thats the only "new" info I am seeing compared to the older O8 books. Overall its a very good basic book for your 1st O8 book but you still need to buy the book by Zee. If you can afford both and have the time to read this book then also buy this one as it will become the standard entry level book, if you can only afford one then you have to buy the Zee book or miss out key concepts. Overall I see very little new material, the book is very nicley put together and very readable however it still does not cover as much material as the older Zee work.
Since writing this review Super system II is out with a chapter by Bobby Baldwin, I now believe that to be the best 1st introduction to O8 for beginning players and it's only 60 pages long so easy and quick to read. The Zee book is essential reading and that relegates this book even further. However for experienced O8 players the short 2 pages in this book on short handed play (6 players or less) is essential reading and is probably the best available material on the subject.

I am a novice at Omaha/8, so I write from that perspective. I have Zee's book and Cloutier's book. Neither of them come close to offering the material Tenner and Krieger present in "Winning Omaha 8" for the beginning player. I think Zee and Cloutier believe you already know this stuff; Tenner and Krieger make no such supposition and start from scratch.

I am one of those players (and a pretty good one) coming from Hold 'em to Omaha/8. Over and over and over, Tenner and Krieger tell me Omaha/8 is NOT Hold 'em, and give example after example. They tell me to often muck pocket aces. What? Muck pocket aces? Yeah right! So I go to Zee's book and find one sentence: muck weak pocket aces. Tenner and Krieger devote a whole chapter to properly playing aces. Guess which book is more informative to the novice. Ever so slowly it dawns on me just how good their advice is. Ever so slowly I go from being a big loser to a small winner at the tables.

Over and over and over, they say Omaha/8 is a game of scoops, not of splits. For at least a month I think they are crazy. Why would I not play the nut high straight even if I had to split the pot? But they say it so often, it gets in my head like a song you can't get rid of. And I go from being a small winner to a much bigger winner.

The book is packed with facts. It has to be read, underlined, reread, reunderlined. I recall the chapter on Playing the Flop. I remember praying to God to please let this chapter come to an end. And yet it is the best chapter in the book, even if it has to be practically memorized word for word.

One small criticism. While the book is most certainly complete enough for the novice (and the intermediate and maybe even the expert who writes the other review and pans the book), it is missing a few paragraphs. It fails to say anything about playing Pot Limit Omaha/8. Maybe the casinos don't spread Pot Limit Omaha/8, I don't know. But the Internet poker sites most certainly do big time! I would have wanted even a little advice on how to adjust playing the game to pot limit.

I think this is the first book I've given 5 stars. I wrote this review in answer to those who criticized it. Please don't buy it if you might end up at my table.

UPDATE: Two and a half years have gone by since I wrote this review. The problem I mentioned then has enlarged greatly, that is, at least online, (practically) ONLY pot limit Omaha/8 is played. A book not containing a large description of the pot limit game offers almost nothing to its readers. I would very strongly suggest the authors update this book. Otherwise I would no longer recommend it.

If you've read very many books on Hold'em you are probably familiar with Lou Krieger and his "Hold'em Excellence" books. Well, Krieger has done it again - this time with Omaha/8.

There are other books that cover Omaha/8, but none that I think do it quite as well for the inexperienced player. After reading Tenner and Krieger and putting their advice into action you'll probably want to check out Ray Zee and other authors of Omaha/8 books.

The book contains introductory chapters dealing with how Omaha/8 is played, basic elements of strategy and basic poker etiquette. Then a chapter introduces the basics of counting outs and calculating odds as needed in Omaha/8 with a table on page 72 giving percentage probability of hitting your hand for four to twenty outs. If the effort required for memorizing this table is a turnoff (it is for me) you'll find that you can accurately calculate the probability of hitting your card on the turn or river by multiplying the outs by four then subtracting the outs in excess of ten.

The next chapter discusses starting hands and I think this may be one of the most valuable sections of the book for many players. Most authors of hold'em books give an easy to remember list of starting hands, but most writers on Omaha/8 are more vague. This is probably in large part because of the number of possible hands in Omaha. Omaha/8 is a high-low game and the hands you want to play will be either high or low. Tenner and Krieger give a brief set of principle-based rules for starting hands that should make sense of the almost infinite possibilities.

Other chapters deal with playing on the flop, playing hands with two aces, playing from the blinds, kill pots, playing flops with a pair, bankroll requirements, playing online, and much more.

If you aspire to become a capable Omaha/8 player this book will get you off to a good start.

Little is published on this game, so if you are into omaha 8 you should buy it all. My main objection to this book is the writing style. I like a less conversational approach; 'just the facts' and if it's important put a star by it.
This book gives organized guidelines on flop play(page 106-107) that are quite helpful to a new player that wants specific advice, and any points of play considered important are emphasized.
I would be wary of reviewers that praise this book above all others. They tend to be new players. There are great insights in books by Zee, Cappelletti, Ciaffone, Slotboom, Brunson, etc. If advice contradicts try to reason out why and you'll probably become a better player.
For a new fixed limit player this is a good start but I would also get Zee's book. Also just go online and get what you can from websites.
Then get experience and be a nit. lol

A nice book, revealing secrets and traps in PLO8, but don't be too scared to play your normal way ! If you play exactly like the book suggests, you will only play 1 hand out of 40 ! This book is about PLO8-cashgames, but the dynamics and action on certain hands/positions can be used also in tournaments.. Read the book, and then forget it all...It will still be in the back of your head, helping in special situations.. Some information-overload can occur while reading it ! - A very good guide if your game has become super-loose, and you want to find back to the winner-track (playing tight-agress.)

There is very little material out there on this game. If you follow Mark's advice you will win in the low to middle limit games. The style is tight and somewhat boring but it works.

After reading the book, I can see why I have a hard time winning in the on line games. Since I have read the book, I have been holding my own, but using the author's information on starting hands, I sure sit on the sidelines watching a lot of the action.

The book was very good, but one thing it did not discuss that often happens in Omaha 8, is when a player flops three pair with zero, one, two, or three small cards on the flop, and then on the turn now has 4 pair. What about it Mark? email rhea2@cox.net