Playing the River in Fixed Limit Omaha
It can be an interesting intellectual exercise to sometimes examine the way in which rivers have played momentous symbolic roles in our culture and literature. The most obvious example of this, for us Americans, is way in which the Mississippi has manifested itself as a mythic presence which has enjoyed a dramatic impact upon our national character since the formation of the union. One only need look to the luminous writings of the great Mark Twain on this subject matter to understand how the river is an enduring metaphor of all that we fear, and all that we hope to achieve.
Moving onto more recent works of cultural import, I would recommend analyzing the Francis Ford Coppola film “Apocalypse Now” as a prime candidate of cinematic art drawing upon the heavy psychological value of the river. As you may recall, the entire plot of that film was based around a Vietnam Army captain leading a small crew of his ship up a Cambodian River in search of the proverbial heart of darkness. Much hilarity ensues on their journey.
Therefore, although some of you may feel this is a bit of the stretch, I would like to extend my cerebral investigation to look at the importance of the river card in the game of fixed limit Omaha. In fact, this is the betting round which carries the greatest psychological heft, not only in my mind but in the view of many learned poker experts.
The reasons for this are not too difficult to fathom. Fix limit Omaha is built on an ingeniously simple yet solid structure. The betting proceeds at a gradually accelerated pace from the pre-flop through the flop, then the turn and finally culminating with the river. With each new betting round, there is a psychological “turning of the screws” that will certainly manifest itself not only in your game play, but in the strategic of maneuvers of your opponents.
How can you best navigate this treacherous river, making the most of what you hold while at the same time destroying those who sit across the table from you? It is all a matter of individual preference, but my general approach is to never go down the river unless my starting hand has been properly augmented by appropriate cards drawn during the flop and turn betting rounds. In fact, it is highly likely that if I am not holding suited cards or cards in a running consecutive order, I will not even last as long as the turn.
But that is just my own particular preference or strategic approach to playing on the Flop in fixed limit Omaha. For further clarification, I should say that I would be somewhat more apt to follow a weak starting hand in a fixed limit game of Omaha as opposed to the pot limit version. That is because I like to keep a firm handle on all of the variables in play, and with a fixed limit in place, more of my attention can be focused toward the cards then toward the unfolding of the betting. But you yourself must dive deep into the waters of fixed limit Omaha to determine what approach to the river works best for you. Just be sure to pack a life preserver.