Social media has completely taken over all our lives. All kinds of content is right at the tip of our fingers. For poker lovers, this means we get exposed , willingly or not , to some questionable poker content.
Due to the social media algorithm, the more we watch poker related content, the more we are bound to consume.
This inevitably means, we will be the target of many people, trying to be poker coaches, talking about strategy, selling courses and ebooks. It comes as a no surprise, the majority of this content is useless and filled with wrong information.
This is why it is of utmost importance to filter the information , you receive. When it comes to improving in poker, and especially in Omaha, the GTO thing to do is watch all the Phil Galfond strategy lessons, he gives completely for free online.
For those, who are a bit lazy to go through all of them, we will give you the essential tips, you can start implementing immediately. All of them are borrowed from the latest Phil Galfond strategy videos .
Phil Galfond Strategy – Defending from Big Blind
When playing Omaha, of course, the edges are smaller and you are expected to play looser, than a regular Holdem game. Nevertheless, Phil Galfond feels like many people are defending it too widely and should only do so, in softer games. Against tough opposition, your range should be tighter . Do not defend every big blind, just because you are playing Omaha. And while we are at it…..
…Phil Galfond Strategy Pre Flop – Play Tighter
In Omaha it is very easy to get greedy, especially when behind. The temptation to get even by participating in multi-way pots with questionable hands, is a recipe for disaster. Of course, you might get lucky few times, but overall, you will be in for a wild ride, which in the end will result in a train wreck.
Choose your hands carefully on Omaha, just like how you do it on NLH.
Phil Galfond Strategy Post Flop – Fast Play
We are quite aware of how recreational players play Omaha, as we watch many of them first hand. They try to trap, chase draws or overestimate the strengtht of their hand.
Phil Galfond strategy post flop is exactly the opposite. He preaches fast playing your strong hands. “Be aggressive with your strong hands, to get the maximum value out of them ” .
Phil Galfond Strategy on Bluffing in Omaha
This is only vaguely mentioned by Phil Galfond, but it is one of the biggest problems of non-winning Omaha players. They tend to never bluff.
In general, in PLO it is much more common for players to bet only when they have very strong hand. Especially on the river. The lower to mid stakes, are filled with players who would assume every huge river bet is definitely the nuts.
You can exploit that, by bluffing a lot more often. In NLH rarely you will surprise even recreational player with a good bluff. But in PLO, it is much more uncommon to bluff, which makes it highly effective weapon, to cover your missed draws.
Phil Galfond Strategy on the River
The previous lesson, leads directly to this one. Fold more often to big river bets. As we already mentioned. PLO players rarely bluff with big river bets. If you do not have very strong hand, it is better to fold and fight another day. Do not give in to your curiosity of what your opponent holds. Most of the time it will be the nuts or close to it.
Phil Galfond Strategy for Bluff Catching
As we already said, most of the time players will not bluff big on the river, when playing Omaha. However, some times they will attempt bluffing. Luckily most of the players are doing it in a pretty obvious scenarios, which you can spot quite easily.
Phil Galfond strategy to catch river bluffs is simple. Just look out for missed draws. Most players semi bluff while chasing flush draw or open ended straight. Or combo of the two. When all else fails and they miss their draws, bluff is attempted on the river. This is especially true if you do not have blocker to the nut flush.
Don’t Bet for Protection
Or at least do it sparingly. Yes, yes – many poker pros do it, but Phil Galfond advice is that you will be better off ignoring it. Betting for protection should be just a small part of your decision making process. Instead focus your attention on what is truly important.
Phil Galfond Strategy Tip for Beginner and Intermediate Players
If you have good hand on the flop or the turn, ask yourself :
” How many streets of value is this hand good for ? “
If the answer is less than all the remaining streets, it is often best to check early streets to induce bluffs or take your value later.
Phil Galfond Gives Reality Check
” I hate to be the one to break it to you, but if you believe any popular poker site has rigged RNG, you are not ready to be real winner “
Read that again !
Phil Galfond Strategy for 4 Betting in NLH
Playing deep stacks Texas Holdem games is a trickier , than buying for 30BB and push or folding. When 150-200 BB are at play, suddenly you can be outmaneuvered by more experienced player.
Being in position, when playing deep stacks, is one of the crucial Phil Galfond strategy tips, to avoid being put in uncomfortable spot. Bad news is, it can still happen.
For example if you raise under the gun and face a 3bet from the button, and you follow through with 4 bet, chances are you will be holding AK, QQ, KK, AA. If the villain decides to call you and proceed to the flop, chances are your hand will not improve greatly. Often you will face 9 high boards or similarly scary situation. In those, hands like suited connectors, have all the power in the world to put pressure on you.
Knowing that your opponent is well aware of your range, if he puts pressure to you, suddenly your overpair will not feel so great. When playing deep stacks, risking everything on overpair, knowing that your opponent may have in his range suited connectors and he knows pretty well your range – is quite scary.
Phil Galfond strategy to battle this, is to include some bluffs in your pre flop range. Raising under the gun with low suited connectors is a good way to diversify your game and keep the opponents guessing.
Phil Galfond Strategy Facing Drawing Hands
Many recreational players make the mistake of trying to price out opponents, who try to hit their flush or straight. This is very counter productive. If you already have low pair or even high card, numbers are on your side, you are the favourite in the hand. Why would you want to bet big and force a fold from drawing hands.
Yes, many times your opponent will hit his draw, but you have to give him the chance to chase it. Overall it is an EV+ decision to choose a bet sizing, which will keep the villain in the hand, chasing his draws.
Phil Galfond Strategy for Low Stakes
“Small stakes poker games are NOT the place for advanced strategy. It doesn’t matter what a solver says — it can’t predict how a beginner will play. “
Phil Galfond on Which Games Are Most Profitable
” It’s 2023. Most of the people making the big bucks in poker are doing so in private games. But making your way into this exclusive world is no easy task ! “
The Poker Agent team gives access to those, so do not hesitate to contact us.
Final Words
Whether you find Phil Galfond strategy tips useful, it is good to also carefully choose where to play poker. Our recommendation are the trendy poker apps, which are home of some of the softest games on the planet. There you will only need some basic poker knowledge and patience to exploit the recreational players, most of who play for fun.
And if you want to delve deeper into the Phil Galfond strategy lessons, take a look at his course.