O8:Preflop:AAxx

When players see two aces in their hands they start thinking about dragging the pot. Why not? Aces are as good as it gets. Unfortunately, in Omaha/8, a pair of aces alone is not a very good hand at all. Here are some examples of AAxx hands.

Those aces look nice, but otherwise this hand is junk and should probably not be played outside of a blind. But there are two aces! Sure, but that's all you have. You have no possibility of a flush, and if you make a low hand it will be far from the nuts, so your chance of scooping the pot is slim. If you flop another ace, you would have a set with a full house redraw, but that's a slim hope. Even top set is very vulnerable in Omaha/8. Yes, you could catch a straight with the 9c7s, but it's going to be a ragged straight easily beaten and will probably only get you half the pot even if you make it since the nut straight would put two low cards on board for sure.

Now, this is an awesome hand. It's double suited, so you can make two nut flushes. Of course, the pair of aces have full house possibilities. You have counterfeit protection for the low since you have 321 - if you make a low, it will be the nuts. The only way you won't want to play past the flop is if it comes all high cards without your suits.

Don't marry aces. They can be good, but don't overvalue them in a game like Omaha/8 where the value of your hand can fluctuate wildly.