Omaha Point Count System

  Sometimes counting works and sometimes counting doesnt work. Counting calories always works when trying to lose those love handles, but, as the clich? goes, counting your chickens before they manage to free themselves from the egg is a completely different, and less predictable, matter.  The objective of the system is to tell the difference between a hand that has an above average chance of winning and one that will cost the player their date money for the next few weeks. What the player is looking for are hands that have a chance of winning both high and low in a split pot game. In other words, this system was developed for the player who regards sharing with the same contempt they would an in-law, communist, or folks who think the writer of Soilent Green was really on to something.  The first step in evaluating your hand is to see if it is one of these high-only hands. To qualify, all four of your cards must be Ten or above and include (1) two pair, or (2) a pair and two suited cards, or (3) two double suits. Eliminate any high hand containing three of the same rank. If your hand does not qualify as a high hand, then the next step is to see if your hand can be played as a low or two-way hand. This determination is made by adding the number of points obtained in these four simple steps:Step one, look at your two lowest cards and award points as follows:A-2 equals 20 pts.A-3 equals 17 pts.A-4 equals 13 pts.A-5 equals 10 pts.2-3 equals 15 pts.2-4 equals 12 pts.3-4 equals 11 pts.4-5 equals 8 pts.Anything else = no pts.Step two, look at your two remaining cards ("kickers") and award points as follows:3 equals 9 pts.4 equals 6 pts.5 equals 4 pts.Jack, Queen, or King equals 2 pts. 6 or Ten equals 1 point  Do not award any "kicker" points for a card that that are a duplicate of a card used in step one. If the kicker is paired it is counted only once under this step.Step three, if you have any pairs, add points as follows:Aces equal 8 pts.Kings equal 6 pts.Queens equal 5 pts.Jacks equal 2 pts.Tens equal one pointFours equal one pointThrees equal one pointDeuces equal 3 pts. Deduct half of the points awarded under this step if you have three cards of the same rank.Step four, if you hold two suited cards and the highest of them is:an Ace, add 4 pts.a King, add 3 pts. a Queen or Jack, add 2 pts. an 8, 9, or Ten, one pt.   Deduct half of the points awarded under this step if your hand contains three cards of the same suit and award no points if all of the cards are of the same suit.  Each hand will have a point total between 0 and 45 points. Hands with 20 points or more should be played and you can feel comfy raising when holding a hand with 30 points or more.  Remember there is a difference between a system and a sure thing. A system puts you in a statistical position to win. This is by no means a guarantee of victory. With this in mind, use some common sense when playing, and remember your opponents may be trying to get an edge with the same system you are using.