How do you affix points to an Omaha hand while playing? You can possibly do it live for starting hand picks, but when you multi-table online.... forget about it. No a point system should be used specifically for training and getting past the beginner stage for strategy.
So according to this system hands like KJQTo and 3456o are equally good and AKQJo is LESS valuable than 7689o because it makes less straights?? Might have misread though, but sounds a bit off to me.
Some players would just think a point system like that is far too difficult and slow to be used well, and arguably would concur that in poker, and Omaha in particular, point count systems are not the be-all and end-all to profitability. As in all poker games there are other elements to the game than hand strength and math.
There are simply too many factors to consider about your opponent, stack size, position, tournament structure, that you simply cannot box up your strategy into drone-style schematics. After you have a handle on the points system, its up to you to start thinkiing about the game on a deeper level, especially when you move up into higher stakes.
Now in consideration of the Hutchison Pint System and its value for new Omaha players, Omaha Indicator is the first auto-read poker calculator on the market that uses the HPS as it's hand strength monitor. That makes sense because it is a computer program. It will show you in a true numbers' sense what you need to know about your hand, but it also combines some indepth profiling for you to combine with your growing skill in Omaha to make full rounded decisions.
Hutchison Point System
The Omaha Fundamentals
Hutchison points
Point counts have been used in card games such as bridge for many years as a method to simplify hand evaluation. Their use in poker was not common until 1997 when Edward Hutchison wrote an article in Canadian Poker Monthly that described a point count system that could be used for Omaha poker. The following will describe this system and list some of its limitations.
Omaha Hi/Lo
High Hand:
A hand qualifies as a playable high hand if it meets all of the following three requirements:
1. All four cards are of rank Ten, Jack, Queen, King or Ace.
2. Contains one or more of a, b or c:
* Two pair.
* One pair and two suited cards.
* Two double suits.
3. Does not contain three cards of the same rank.
Low Hand:
Determine the number of low hand points a hand contains by adding together the four factors described below. In the original article it was recommended to play all hands with greater than 20 points and to consider raising with greater than 30 points.
1. Lowest two cards by rank
- Ace-Two = 20 points
- Ace-Three = 17 points
- Ace-Four = 13 points
- Ace-Five = 10 points
- Two-Three = 15 points
- Two-Four = 12 points
- Three-Four = 11 points
- Four-Five = 8 points
- All others = 0 points
2. Two remaining cards not counted above (i.e. "kickers") using each rank only once
- Three = 9 points
- Four = 6 points
- Five = 4 points
- Jack, Queen or King = 2 points
- Six or Ten = 1 points
- Seven, Eight or Nine = 0 points
3. Pairs
- Ace = 8 points
- King = 6 points
- Queen = 5 points
- Jack = 2 points
- Ten, Four or Three = 1 points
- Two = 3 points
- All others = 0 points
- Deduct half of the points from this section if hand contains three cards of same rank.
- Deduct all points from this section if hand contains four cards of same rank.
4. Two Suited cards
- Ace High = 4 points
- King High = 3 points
- Queen or Jack High = 2 points
- Ten, Nine or Eight High = 1 points
- All others = 0 points
- Deduct half of the points from this section if hand contains three cards of same suit.
- Deduct all points from this section if hand contains four cards of same suit.
Limitations:
As there with any simplifying system there are limitations as to its accuracy and use. For this system the main limitations are:
1. Opponents assumed to be average low limit opponents.
2. Only considers pre-flop hand evaluation.
Omaha Hi
To evaluate the contribution made by suited cards, look to see if your hand contains two or more cards of the same suit. If it does, award points based upon the rank of the highest card. Repeat the procedure if your hand is double suited.
If the highest card is an ACE award 8 points
If the highest card is a KING award 6 points
If the highest card is a QUEEN award 5 points
If the highest card is a JACK award 4 points
If the highest card is a TEN or a NINE award 3 points
If the highest card is an EIGHT award 2 points
If the highest card is SEVEN or below award 1 point.
If your hand contains more than two cards of the same suit, deduct 2 points.
To factor in the advantage of having pairs,
If you have a pair of ACES award 18 points
If you have a pair of KINGS award 16 points
If you have a pair of QUEENS award 14 points
If you have a pair of JACKS award 13 points
If you have a pair of TENS award 12 points
If you have a pair of NINES award 10 points
If you have a pair of EIGHTS award 8 points
If you have a pair of SEVENS or below award 7 points
Award no points to any hand that contains three of the same rank.
When your hand contains cards capable of completing a straight it becomes more valuable. Therefore, If your cards contain no more than a three card gap, add the following points:
For FOUR cards, add 25 points
For THREE cards, add 18 points
For TWO cards, add 8 points
From these totals, subtract two points for each gap, up to a maximum of six points.
To account for the special case represented by ACES, deduct four points from the above totals when an Ace is used. This is necessary because an Ace can make fewer straights. However, when your hand contains small cards that can be used with an Ace to make a straight, the hand's value increases. Therefore, when your hand contains an Ace and another wheel card, add 6 points. Add 12 points for an Ace and two wheel cards.
A determination must be made as to which hands qualify as playable. This becomes a function of how many points one decides are necessary before entering a hand. My suggestion would be to only play hands that earn 28 points or more. It can be argued that, ignoring the rake, any hand with more than a 10 percent win rate (i.e., those with 20 points or more) is potentially profitable in the long run.
Still, I have the prejudice that most players, and especially those who are relatively inexperienced, would be better advised to forsake marginal hands and to focus on those that earn 28 points or more. Recalling that a random hand will win about 10% of the time in a ten-handed game, it can be seen that playing only premium combinations of 28 points or more insures that you will always have a hand that is 40% better than a random hand.
The total required to raise or to call someone's raise must also be determined subjectively. I feel that 32 points is the appropriate level, so, in summary, YOU SHOULD CALL WITH 28 POINTS OR MORE AND CONSIDER RAISING WITH 32 POINTS OR MORE
