Timestamps
0:30 – hello and welcome
34:43 – strategy

We created this video as part of a year-end fundraising campaign for the Bay Area Urban Debate League.  To unlock more videos like this one and get a shot at some great prizes, please donate to the campaign now!

In the meantime, please enjoy the next PLO8 strategy video from Nate and myself:

Please contribute here!

Thanks to everyone who’s donated already, you’ve far exceeded what I thought we were likely to raise. As a result, it’s been tough to keep pace with releasing all the free strategy videos I promised. Thankfully Nate came through in a pinch and gave me permission to use some videos we’d previously recorded. So here’s the first of a three-part series in which we have fun reviewing my play in a PLO8 WCOOP event. Enjoy, and happy new year!

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Strategy

Hand 1

2-4 PLO8 on Bovada. 4-handed.

I open to $12 with (AT)J7–I’m using Bill Chen’s notation where suited cards go in parentheses.

Only the BB calls. He’s playing $200ish, and I cover.

Flop KQ8 rainbow. BB checks; I bet half the pot ($13).

Turn pairs the 8 and puts up a flush draw (I have the 7 of the suit). BB checks.

Hand 2

1-2 NLHE 6max on Bovada. I have 220.98 (after posting BB). Folds to button who raises to $6. SB Calls
I raise to $24 (pot) with AA. Button calls

Flop ($54 in pot) Jh Qd 8s
I bet $54 and the button jams and covers me. So $307 in the pot and I have 145 giving me almost exactly 2:1.

Hand 3

PokerStars – $1000+$50|8000/16000 Ante 2000 NL (6 max) – Holdem – 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

UTG: 61.6 BB (VPIP: 26.46, PFR: 18.59, 3Bet Preflop: 11.72, Hands: 359)
CO: 60.1 BB (VPIP: 40.00, PFR: 27.50, 3Bet Preflop: 15.38, Hands: 40)
BTN: 90.5 BB (VPIP: 19.22, PFR: 15.56, 3Bet Preflop: 6.07, Hands: 591)
SB: 61.46 BB (VPIP: 19.31, PFR: 15.97, 3Bet Preflop: 10.32, Hands: 295)
Hero (BB): 63.17 BB

5 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.13 BB) Hero has 9c Jc
UTG raises to 2.19 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.19 BB

Flop : (5.51 BB, 2 players) Jd 3c Ks
Hero checks, UTG bets 2.41 BB, Hero calls 2.41 BB

Turn : (10.33 BB, 2 players) Ac
Hero checks, UTG checks

River : (10.33 BB, 2 players) 7s
Hero checks, UTG bets 4.65 BB, Hero?

Thursday was a $1K Super Knock-Out, though my bounty was collected before I could nab any of my own. This first hand wasn’t a huge pot, but I’m disappointed in myself for calling the river:

PokerStars – $500+$500+$50|15/30 NL – Holdem – 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

BTN: 210.43 BB (VPIP: 24.75, PFR: 16.75, 3Bet Preflop: 2.11, Hands: 204)
SB: 165.67 BB (VPIP: 6.67, PFR: 6.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)
BB: 156 BB (VPIP: 19.35, PFR: 12.90, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 31)
UTG: 55.37 BB (VPIP: 37.04, PFR: 18.52, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 55)
UTG+1: 237.3 BB (VPIP: 37.25, PFR: 13.73, 3Bet Preflop: 3.23, Hands: 52)
Hero (MP): 137.67 BB
MP+1: 234.8 BB (VPIP: 13.64, PFR: 11.36, 3Bet Preflop: 10.00, Hands: 44)
MP+2: 166.67 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 1)
CO: 159.93 BB (VPIP: 22.00, PFR: 14.00, 3Bet Preflop: 12.00, Hands: 50)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Kc Kh
fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, SB calls 2.5 BB, fold

Flop : (7 BB, 2 players) Jh 3d 7c
SB checks, Hero bets 5.23 BB, SB calls 5.23 BB

Turn : (17.47 BB, 2 players) 2s
SB checks, Hero checks

River : (17.47 BB, 2 players) 5h
SB bets 17 BB, Hero calls 17 BB

SB shows 5d 5s (Three of a Kind, Fives)
(Pre 20%, Flop 10%, Turn 5%)

Hero mucks Kc Kh (One Pair, Kings)
(Pre 80%, Flop 90%, Turn 95%)

SB wins 51.47 BB

I don’t think Villain is bluffing, and with that sizing, he’s not value betting worse either.

I had a bad feeling about this one, but I think, despite the outcome, I was correct to suppress it as “seeing monsters”:

PokerStars – $500+$500+$50|30/60 Ante 5 NL – Holdem – 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

MP+1: 310.33 BB (VPIP: 27.31, PFR: 16.97, 3Bet Preflop: 2.29, Hands: 285)
MP+2: 14.77 BB (VPIP: 17.71, PFR: 11.46, 3Bet Preflop: 6.52, Hands: 96)
CO: 50.67 BB (VPIP: 14.10, PFR: 8.97, 3Bet Preflop: 10.53, Hands: 79)
BTN: 74.15 BB (VPIP: 21.05, PFR: 14.04, 3Bet Preflop: 7.69, Hands: 57)
SB: 150.58 BB (VPIP: 36.92, PFR: 16.15, 3Bet Preflop: 3.23, Hands: 133)
Hero (BB): 62.23 BB
UTG: 74.27 BB (VPIP: 21.77, PFR: 12.90, 3Bet Preflop: 5.17, Hands: 125)
UTG+1: 140.47 BB (VPIP: 22.22, PFR: 12.35, 3Bet Preflop: 7.32, Hands: 82)
MP: 123.92 BB (VPIP: 24.43, PFR: 13.74, 3Bet Preflop: 8.20, Hands: 131)

9 players post ante of 0.08 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.25 BB) Hero has Kd Ks
fold, UTG+1 raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, MP+2 calls 3 BB, fold, BTN raises to 7.02 BB, SB calls 6.52 BB, Hero raises to 20 BB, fold, MP+2 calls 11.68 BB and is all-in, BTN raises to 74.07 BB and is all-in, fold, Hero calls 42.15 BB and is all-in

Flop : (149.75 BB, 3 players) Tc 9d 8s

Turn : (149.75 BB, 3 players) 5d

River : (149.75 BB, 3 players) 7h

Hero shows Kd Ks (One Pair, Kings)

Main Pot [54.82 BB]: (Pre 18%, Flop 12%, Turn 5%)
Side Pot [94.93 BB]: (Pre 18%, Flop 12%, Turn 5%)

BTN shows Ah As (One Pair, Aces)

Main Pot [54.82 BB]: (Pre 65%, Flop 79%, Turn 5%)
Side Pot [94.93 BB]: (Pre 82%, Flop 88%, Turn 95%)

MP+2 shows 5h 5c (Three of a Kind, Fives)

Main Pot [54.82 BB]: (Pre 17%, Flop 9%, Turn 90%)

MP+2 wins 54.82 BB
BTN wins 94.93 BB

I also Twitched some PLO8 on Thursday, you can find that here.

I’ll be playing all day tomorrow, probably late registering the earliest tournaments by a bit just so I don’t end up with an insanely long day, but hey, it’s the last day of SCOOP, gotta make it count!

Pre Flop: (t7500) Hero is SB with 8 T 2 A
UTG raises to t10000, 2 folds, Hero calls t7500, BB calls t5000

Flop: (t30000) K Q 2 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG bets t20000, Hero raises to t90000, BB folds, UTG raises to t148555 all in, Hero calls t44768 all in

Turn: (t299536) 9 (2 players – 2 are all in)

River: (t299536) 4 (2 players – 2 are all in)

The organizational tools Nate mentions are Trello and Getting Things Done by David Allen, which we also discussed with Roy Bhasin.

Since recording this episode, we’ve released details for a meetup in Las Vegas this Saturday, 10AM – Noon at the Rio Convention Center Starbucks.

Timestamps

0:30 Hello and welcome; main event plans; playing at Venetian
7:00 General PLO8 tournament strategy
23:29 WSOP hands

Strategy

Blinds 300/600. Hero raises AKK3ss to 1600 in EP, player on immediate left calls, rest fold. Effective stacks 18K. Flop 866 with a backdoor nut flush draw for Hero.  Hero bets 2500, Villain raises pot.

Blinds 800/1600. Doc Sands raises to 3200 from CO, Hero calls As8c3d2c on BB. Villain has 32K behind, Hero has 50K. We’re in the (shallow) money. Flop Q74ss. Hero check-folds.

Blinds 1K/2K. Hero opens AJJ8 with nut clubs to 4K in CO, button calls, BB calls. Flop KK7cc, BB checks, Hero bets 7000, BTN raises to 15,500, BB folds. Hero started hand with 60K, Villain covers.

Blinds 1200/2400. Hero raises A269 in MP, called by CO. Flop T53r, Hero bet 7500, he pots it and has 41K total, Hero covers but not by much.

Blinds 3K/6K. Tight-passive SB opens to 18K, Hero call 2567ds. Flop KQJ with a flush draw for Hero. Check it down 3 on turn and J on river (Hero didn’t get there).

I really appreciate everyone who was cheering here, on Twitter, etc., and I hope I’ll be able to deliver another nice sweat for you all in the Main Event next month. I won’t be playing any poker between now and then, but I’ve still got plenty of WSOP stuff to write about so you should continue to see new content going up here.

Also for reasons having nothing to do with this, this week’s podcast is probably going to be a little late going up, most likely not until Thursday. It was recorded last week, so there won’t be any PLO8 talk, but you can definitely look forward to hearing that next week! Nate’s got a great head for the game, he was a big help to me in preparing for the final few tables, and we’re going to try to get a good guest for the subject as well. Stay tuned!

What really threw me was that these seemingly experienced players were playing in a way that seemed incorrect to me, splashing around in a lot of pots, confidently calling down modest bets with one-way hands, etc. Meanwhile I was card dead and folding damn near everything, and I started to wonder whether my approach wasn’t just off-the-charts wrong. I ended up making the classic error of check-calling big turn and river bets with little more than the nut low, justifying it on the grounds that everyone else was doing it and I had a blocker (ie I was playing A22x, that pair of deuces being the aforementioned “little more” that I somehow convinced myself had a shot at winning the high).

Thankfully it was a small pot and a sadly needed reminder. I cooled off, sat back, and let the others go broke all around me. The next time I played a big pot, it was 25/50 and I tossed out a black 100 chip as a call, hoping to limp-reraise my double-suited AA54. The action folded to the big blind, who, thinking I’d raised, tossed out 50 more chips. That reopened the betting for me to pot it, which he reluctantly called. He called off the rest with 8765 or something like that on a QQ5 board and I had him in pretty bad shape, ultimately scooping the pot.

I started to find a rhythm after that, and as the blinds got bigger the situations in which I found myself started to feel more and more familiar. I was able to read hands, semi-bluff, check for pot control and deception, and just generally feel like I was playing poker instead of waiting around for premium hands and then blindly jamming the pot. Best of all, I was having fun!

As we approached the end of the day, I had run my starting 4500 up over 40K. They announced that we’d play just three more hands and call it a night – just in time for me to avoid paying the big blind! On the second-to-last hand, I raised AA94 suited in hearts and diamonds. Mark Gregorich called from the small blind, then potted into me on a 7c 7s 8s flop. The SPR was only 1.5 when we saw the flop, so there was no question of me folding, and I got it in against his ATT3 with a spade draw. He drilled the low on the turn and the flush on the river to scoop a 25K pot.

I wasn’t rattled. I still had a roughly average stack of 30K, and I’d had my share of luck throughout the day. I calmly wished as well, folded my next hand, bagged my chips, and drove home to relax and prepare for a tougher day of competition tomorrow. These kinds of frustrating things happen in poker, and it’s important to keep your cool when they do. Even if you’re upset on the inside, it’s important to keep a professional demeanor. Wish your opponent well not only with your words but with your heard. Smile, and you will feel the resentment float away like a burden liften from your shoulders.

Today is another day. I am calm and collected. I am water.

Today is the $1500 PLO8, the last WSOP event I’m going to play before the main. Although the series hasn’t been kind to me so far, I’m optimistic about this event because I really enjoy playing PLO8, and the potential edge over players who don’t know what they’re doing is enormous. I may well have a larger edge in this tournament than in any other that I played.

So I just want to assure everyone, particularly those of you with a financial interest in the outcome, that I am pumped and ready to play my best today. I was not at all tilted by losing a huge coin flip in last night’s $1K, and after the tournament was over I came straight  home and went to bed so I’d rested for today. I most definitely did not go on an all-night bender and wake up 27 minutes ago on a golf course in Henderson. I am feeling fresh and in a good place mentally and physically.

Let’s do this!!!!

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00:24 Intro, a few thoughts on PLO8 and jackpot games
08:30 Tipping on jackpot and tournament wins
17:50 Security inside the casino and at the table
27:10 Strategy segment: Playing against a strong range
55:35 Interview with Adrienne “Talonchick” Rowsome
1:42:50 Wrap-up; inspired by Adrienne, Andrew tries to have more fun at the table

Michael sent us a very nice write-up of the hand history for today’s strategy segment:

I mean I’m no expert but jeebus, guy cold calls a 3-bet out of position with AKT8 and then stacks off with top-pair, a gutshot, and a backdoor flush draw:

PokerStars Game #49366543208: Tournament #2010090013, $200+$15 USD Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit – Level III (20/40) – 2010/09/09 12:52:27 ET
Table ‘2010090013 85’ 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: p3rc4 (10237 in chips)
Seat 2: JorgeArias (2650 in chips)
Seat 3: Fisstik (6805 in chips)
Seat 4: fliksflaks (4055 in chips)
Seat 5: foucault82 (5143 in chips)
Seat 6: Pokerccini (10425 in chips)
JorgeArias: posts small blind 20
Fisstik: posts big blind 40
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to foucault82 [Ad Td 4s Kc]
fliksflaks: folds
foucault82: raises 80 to 120
Pokerccini: folds
p3rc4: raises 200 to 320
JorgeArias: calls 300
Fisstik: folds
foucault82: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [Jd Kd 6c]
JorgeArias: checks
foucault82: checks
p3rc4: bets 645
JorgeArias: calls 645
foucault82: raises 2935 to 3580
p3rc4: folds
JorgeArias: calls 1685 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (1250) returned to foucault82
*** TURN *** [Jd Kd 6c] [6s]
*** RIVER *** [Jd Kd 6c 6s] [6h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JorgeArias: shows [Tc Ac 8d Kh] (HI: three of a kind, Sixes)
foucault82: shows [Ad Td 4s Kc] (HI: three of a kind, Sixes)
JorgeArias collected 3153 from pot
foucault82 collected 3152 from pot
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6305 | Rake 0
Board [Jd Kd 6c 6s 6h]
Seat 1: p3rc4 (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: JorgeArias (small blind) showed [Tc Ac 8d Kh] and won (3153) with HI: three of a kind, Sixes
Seat 3: Fisstik (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: fliksflaks folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 5: foucault82 showed [Ad Td 4s Kc] and won (3152) with HI: three of a kind, Sixes

This one doesn’t look so bad because he’s in decent shape against my hand, but I was representing something much stronger. I felt like with a blocker to the nut high, it was a good time to play the nut low aggressively and try to turn it into a scoop. I actually had to think about folding the turn, because I figured he almost certainly had the nut low. Gotta be careful not to give these guys too much credit:

PokerStars Game #49371147777: Tournament #2010090013, $200+$15 USD Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit – Level VII (50/100) – 2010/09/09 14:32:00 ET
Table ‘2010090013 85’ 6-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: p3rc4 (21466 in chips)
Seat 2: loaded69 (14728 in chips)
Seat 3: Fisstik (18667 in chips)
Seat 4: fliksflaks (1199 in chips)
Seat 5: foucault82 (7408 in chips)
Seat 6: Pokerccini (15850 in chips)
Pokerccini: posts small blind 50
p3rc4: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to foucault82 [Qs 2c Ah 3s]
loaded69: raises 200 to 300
Fisstik: folds
fliksflaks: folds
foucault82: calls 300
Pokerccini: folds
p3rc4: folds
*** FLOP *** [6h 4h 8h]
loaded69: bets 200
foucault82: raises 799 to 999
loaded69: calls 799
*** TURN *** [6h 4h 8h] [4d]
loaded69: checks
foucault82: bets 1234
loaded69: raises 5216 to 6450
foucault82: calls 4875 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (341) returned to loaded69
*** RIVER *** [6h 4h 8h 4d] [6d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
loaded69: shows [Kc Kd 3h 2h] (HI: a flush, Eight high; LO: 8,6,4,3,2)
foucault82: shows [Qs 2c Ah 3s] (HI: a pair of Sixes; LO: 8,6,4,2,A)
loaded69 collected 7483 from pot
foucault82 collected 7483 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 14966 | Rake 0
Board [6h 4h 8h 4d 6d]
Seat 1: p3rc4 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: loaded69 showed [Kc Kd 3h 2h] and won (7483) with HI: a flush, Eight high; LO: 8,6,4,3,2
Seat 3: Fisstik folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 4: fliksflaks folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 5: foucault82 (button) showed [Qs 2c Ah 3s] and won (7483) with HI: a pair of Sixes; LO: 8,6,4,2,A
Seat 6: Pokerccini (small blind) folded before Flop

This was the second rush tournament I’ve played, and while I miss having reads and establishing dynamics at the table, I will say that rush otherwise allows for great tournament structures. You get in a ton of hands at each blind level and the tournament still goes by pretty quickly. Especially for non-NLHE games, where reads aren’t worth nearly as much to me, I think I’m a big fan. Anyhow, here are a few random hands:

Slowplay Costs Me the Pot

It’s really rare that slowplaying is correct in PLO8, and despite the results of this hand, I’m pretty happy with my decision. On the flop, it’s just really hard for him to have anything at all and so easy for me to have trips. When I’m ahead, I’m usually way ahead, sweating two or in this case just one out. Turn is great for me since it means there will be no low; I probably would have bet a rag. I don’t think I can expect too many calls if I bet the river, and most of the hands will value bet if I check anyway, so I’d rather try to induce. Or, in this case, save myself some money.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t4770)
SB (t1885)
BB (t6555)
UTG (t4768)
UTG+1 (t7881)
Hero (MP1) (t8855)
MP2 (t4532)
MP3 (t3394)
CO (t4299)

Hero’s M: 118.07

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with 2, 4, 10, A
2 folds, Hero bets t150, MP2 calls t150, 5 folds

Flop: (t375) 2, 10, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets t375, Hero calls t375

Turn: (t1125) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks

River: (t1125) A (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets t400, Hero calls t400

Total pot: t1925

Results:
Hero had 2, 4, 10, A (full house, twos over Aces).
MP2 had J, A, A, K (full house, Aces over twos).
Outcome: MP2 won t1925

Something Else You Aren’t Supposed to Do in PLO8

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament, 150/300 Blinds (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t4265)
SB (t8231)
BB (t13609)
UTG (t12249)
Hero (UTG+1) (t17046)
MP1 (t15543)
MP2 (t9133)
MP3 (t9700)
CO (t14096)

Hero’s M: 37.88

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with K, 3, A, 3
UTG calls t300, Hero calls t300, 2 folds, MP3 calls t300, 2 folds, SB calls t150, BB checks

Flop: (t1500) 4, 7, 5 (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks, MP3 checks

Turn: (t1500) 9 (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets t999, MP3 raises to t3900, 3 folds, Hero calls t2901

River: (t9300) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 bets t5500 (All-In), Hero calls t5500

Total pot: t20300

Results:
Hero had K, 3, A, 3 (one pair, threes).
MP3 had K, A, 4, J (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won t10150, MP3 won t10150

It’s a cardinal rule of split pot games that you aren’t supposed to call down for half the pot, especially not with only the second nuts. I just don’t see the guy ever checking the nut low on the flop. The real danger here is that I get quartered if he has A3 and a high, but even that’s a kind of unlikely flop check, plus I hold two of the 3’s. He was pissed though.

Bluff Catching

Looking at this now, I probably ought to bet the turn. As played, though, I’m happy with the river check-call. It’s extremely rare that he has a high good enough to value bet in its own right, so I think the only way I get scooped is if he rivered like a low and a weak two-pair, and that seems pretty unlikely. I also don’t think he checks too many low draws on the turn that are good enough to value bet the river. Scooooooooooooop.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament, 300/600 Blinds (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t10042)
SB (t27450)
Hero (BB) (t39886)
UTG (t19199)
UTG+1 (t45543)
MP1 (t12244)
MP2 (t31370)
MP3 (t10781)
CO (t34163)

Hero’s M: 44.32

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9, J, 10, J
1 fold, UTG+1 bets t1350, 6 folds, Hero calls t750

Flop: (t3000) 6, 9, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 checks

Turn: (t3000) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 checks

River: (t3000) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets t2400, Hero calls t2400

Total pot: t7800

Results:
Hero had 9, J, 10, J (one pair, Jacks).
UTG+1 had 10, K, A, 4 (one pair, fours).
Outcome: Hero won t7800

I finished 32nd out of like 1100 runners. That took barely three hours to play out, despite the fact that there was plenty of play at every level. Rush PLO8 tournament = great success!

I decided that at least in the early stages of the tournament, I was going to limp in EP with anything I wanted to play. Villain here had been isolating me a lot, so I decided to check-raise him on this flop- not sure if that’s good or nto.

Poker Stars $1000+$50 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament – t15/t30 Blinds – 9 players

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: t5294 M = 117.64
Hero (UTG+1): t4975 M = 110.56
UTG+2: t3913 M = 86.96
MP1: t8037 M = 178.60
MP2: t4955 M = 110.11
CO: t5992 M = 133.16
BTN: t5202 M = 115.60
SB: t8119 M = 180.42
BB: t8852 M = 196.71

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is UTG+1 with A T 4 5
1 fold, Hero calls t30, UTG+2 raises to t120, 6 folds, Hero calls t90

Flop: (t285) 3 3 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+2 bets t180, Hero raises to t555, UTG+2 calls t375

Turn: (t1395) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+2 bets t1395, Hero raises to t4300 all in, UTG+2 calls t1843 all in

River: (t7871) A (2 players – 2 are all in)

Final Pot: t7871

Hero shows A T 4 5 (HI: a straight, Ace to Five; LO: 5,4,3,2,A)
UTG+2 shows 4 6 A Q (HI: two pair, Aces and Threes; LO: 6,4,3,2,A)

I’m pretty sure it would be better just to pot the turn than to check-raise, not that he’s folding this anyway, but it could get him off of high hands.

On this one, I tried check-raise a rivered nut-nut, but Villain did not oblige. I can’t imagine he was calling a bet either, though, so I think the plan is still fine.

Poker Stars $1000+$50 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament – t25/t50 Blinds – 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: t8929 M = 119.05
Hero (UTG+2): t8973 M = 119.64
MP1: t3095 M = 41.27
MP2: t4926 M = 65.68
CO: t15066 M = 200.88
BTN: t7965 M = 106.20
SB: t4257 M = 56.76
BB: t7614 M = 101.52
UTG: t6592 M = 87.89

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is UTG+2 with 4 3 A A
2 folds, Hero calls t50, 1 fold, MP2 calls t50, CO calls t50, 1 fold, SB calls t25, BB checks

Flop: (t250) 7 Q 2 (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets t188, MP2 calls t188, CO folds, SB folds, BB folds

Turn: (t626) K (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets t350, Hero calls t350

River: (t1326) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks

Final Pot: t1326
Hero shows 4 3 A A (HI: a flush, Ace high; LO: 7,5,3,2,A)
MP2 mucks 9 T Q 8

I’m still not sure about this fold. He certainly ought to have more than AA to do this, but you never know with these clowns. Then again if he does have AA2 (or any A2, really), I’m smoked.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament, 15/30 Blinds (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 (t5000)
Hero (CO) (t4940)
Button (t4955)
SB (t4970)
BB (t4940)
UTG (t6260)
UTG+1 (t5000)
MP1 (t5000)
MP2 (t3935)

Hero’s M: 109.78

Preflop: Hero is CO with 5, 4, A, 3
2 folds, MP1 calls t30, 2 folds, Hero bets t135, Button raises to t480, 3 folds, Hero calls t345

Flop: (t1035) 3, 7, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t750, Hero folds

Total pot: t1035

Results:
Button didn’t show
Outcome: Button won t1035

Here’s the one that cost me most of my chips. When I saw the flop, I had every intention of folding, but once everyone in between folded, I decided to go with it.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament, 20/40 Blinds (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 (t5113)
Hero (MP3) (t4350)
CO (t5250)
Button (t5045)
SB (t3476)
BB (t7096)
UTG (t6703)
UTG+1 (t4833)
MP1 (t3134)

Hero’s M: 72.50

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with 8, 7, A, 5
UTG calls t40, 1 fold, MP1 calls t40, 1 fold, Hero calls t40, CO calls t40, 1 fold, SB bets t280, BB calls t240, UTG calls t240, MP1 calls t240, Hero calls t240, 1 fold

Flop: (t1440) 4, A, 7 (5 players)
SB bets t1440, 3 folds, Hero raises to t4070 (All-In), SB calls t1756 (All-In)

Turn: (t7832) 3 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t7832) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t7832

Results:
SB had 5, 2, K, 9 (straight, five high).
Hero had 8, 7, A, 5 (two pair, Aces and sevens).
Outcome: SB won t7832

h

Edit: Yeah, I’m an idiot. It was late when I posted this, and I did in fact calculate my pre-flop equity rather than my flop equity. I’m actually a 2:1 dog here, which is more what I expected. Thanks to qanda201 for pointing it out in the comments. I thought it seemed too good to be true.
Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament, 500/1000 Blinds (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG+1 (t32863)
MP1 (t13444)
MP2 (t17933)
MP3 (t4420)
CO (t19270)
Button (t11849)
Hero (SB) (t20290)
BB (t16994)
UTG (t11219)

Hero’s M: 13.53

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, K, 2, 3
1 fold, UTG+1 bets t2500, 1 fold, MP2 calls t2500, 3 folds, Hero calls t2000, BB calls t1500

Flop: (t10000) 5, 10, J (4 players)
Hero checks, BB bets t10000, 2 folds, Hero raises to t17790 (All-In), BB calls t4494 (All-In)

Turn: (t38988) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t38988) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t38988

Results:
Hero had K, K, 2, 3 (flush, Jack high).
BB had 5, 7, Q, 5 (full house, fives over eights).
Outcome: BB won t38988

Shows what I know about this game. I was embarassed to even post this because I felt like I played this bad and got my money in bad, but turns out I’m a pretty substantial favorite:

My reasoning at the time was that he was either on a draw, in which case I had some of his outs and my Kings were good, or that most of my draws were live if he did have a made hand. Hard to say how I’d perform against his full range here, but I guess I get to write this one off to a bad beat!

Edit: Here’s the actual flop equity

Two other moderately interesting hands:

50/100, I open to 300 with AA64, solid online guy on the button calls, decent slightly passive European lady calls on BB. Flop Q95r, she checks, I bet 600, Button calls, she check-raises pot, I have a pretty standard fold.

100/200, four limpers, I check Q246 in the BB. Flop Kh Qh 2c (I have no hearts). Checks around.

Turn Kh Qh 2c 7d. I check, first limper checks, same lady from before bets 500, gets one fold. I have about 3K in my stack and fold, but I am not so sure this was good. I think check-raising probably gets me a fold maybe 20-25% of the time, and while I’m not ahead of her calling range, it’s very difficult for her to be ahead of me for both high and low.

Overall, playing live PLO8 wasn’t nearly as fun as I was hoping. I think this was mostly because I was card dead all tournament and the structure sucked.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament, 800/1600 Blinds (7 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t145518)
UTG (t15658)
MP1 (t38832)
MP2 (t32782)
CO (t31976)
Hero (Button) (t31765)
SB (t33469)

Hero’s M: 13.24

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, 3, K, 9
4 folds, Hero bets t3200, SB raises to t11200, 1 fold, Hero raises to t31765 (All-In), SB calls t20565

Flop: (t65130) Q, 7, 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t65130) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t65130) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t65130

Results:
Hero had A, 3, K, 9 (one pair, Queens).
SB had J, 2, K, A (two pair, Queens and Jacks).
Outcome: SB won t65130

I dunno, I didn’t end up in horrible shape, but this is almost a best case scenario. He can definitely have me in pretty bad shape:

Fundamentally, though, I don’t care because the tournament accoplished its purpose: it kept me entertained while crushing cash games on the side. I might post some hands later, I won some big pots off of one of my 10/20 heads up nemeses.

A little over an hour into the PLO8 FTOPS Knock-Out event. I’ve been getting a lot of crap but also playing conservatively and have just a hair over the 5K starting chips. Blinds are 50/100, I raise UTG+1 with Ac Jd 4c 2h. MP2 calls and BB calls.

Flop comes Kc 8d 7c, giving me nut flush draw, overcard, and nut low draw with counterfeit protection. I bet 650 into 950, both players call. Turn is the Qs, and I have just about a pot-sized bet left in my stack. I shove, and the MP guy calls me with AA54 for an overpair, a gutshot, and a shitty low draw.

But of course against a few other hands in my range he doesn’t fare so well:

PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament, 15/30 Blinds (8 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t5430)
BB (t4450)
UTG (t2960)
UTG+1 (t2520)
MP1 (t5635)
Hero (MP2) (t3005)
CO (t2945)
Button (t3055)

Hero’s M: 66.78

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 2, 4, K, 3
3 folds, Hero bets t90, 1 fold, Button calls t90, 2 folds

Flop: (t225) 3, K, 9 (2 players)
Hero bets t155, Button calls t155

Turn: (t535) K (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: (t535) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t295, Hero raises to t1060, Button calls t765

Total pot: t2655

Results:
Button mucked A, Q, 10, A (Hi: two pair, Aces and Kings).
Hero had 2, 4, K, 3 (Hi: full house, Kings over threes).
Outcome: Hero won t2655

Yes, I’m aware that this a pretty crappy hand and a questionable pre-flop raise. Let’s just focus on the river sexiness.

This is a good board flop for me to bet at, since it misses most hands (ie low cards) and people play very straightforwardly in PLO8. There aren’t many K’s in his range, so when he calls, I think he’s most likely on a draw or a big pair. I check the turn to induce and because he probably folds a pair. His check back could be a draw choosing to take a free card or something he’s trying to showdown cheaply, which could incude the case K if he hasn’t filled up. I think most of that range either isn’t calling a river bet or is betting anyway if checked to. Sexyyyy.

Full Tilt Poker Game #12159019788: FTOPS Event #11 (84242375), Table 41 – 20/40 – Pot Limit Omaha H/L – 14:20:39 ET – 2009/05/11
Seat 1: babbelz (1,028)
Seat 2: Sensor (8,220)
Seat 3: dav713 (4,859)
Seat 4: ayyaahh91 (4,755)
Seat 5: nrock23 (7,886)
Seat 6: thegrizz1111 (3,986)
Seat 7: Greengoz (5,000)
Seat 8: TPackage1 (4,531)
Seat 9: Foucault (4,735)
nrock23 posts the small blind of 20
thegrizz1111 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Foucault [9s Ad 2d Ts]
TPackage1 folds
Foucault raises to 80
babbelz calls 80
Sensor folds
dav713 calls 80
ayyaahh91 folds
nrock23 folds
thegrizz1111 calls 40
*** FLOP *** [6d 6c 8d]
thegrizz1111 checks
Foucault checks
babbelz bets 170
dav713 has 15 seconds left to act
dav713 raises to 400
thegrizz1111 folds
Foucault has 15 seconds left to act
Foucault calls 400
babbelz raises to 948, and is all in
dav713 calls 548
Foucault calls 548
*** TURN *** [6d 6c 8d] [9h]
Foucault checks
dav713 bets 600
Foucault calls 600
*** RIVER *** [6d 6c 8d 9h] [3h]
Foucault checks
dav713 checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
dav713 shows [Jc 6h Qc Jh] three of a kind, Sixes, for high
Foucault shows [9s Ad 2d Ts] two pair, Nines and Sixes, for high and 8,6,3,2,A, for low
dav713 wins the high side pot (600) with three of a kind, Sixes
Foucault wins the low side pot (600) with 8,6,3,2,A
babbelz shows [2s 3c 8c Ac] two pair, Eights and Sixes, for high and 8,6,3,2,A, for low
dav713 wins the high main pot (1,592) with three of a kind, Sixes
Foucault ties for the low main pot (796) with 8,6,3,2,A
babbelz ties for the low main pot (796) with 8,6,3,2,A
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4,384 Main pot 3,184. Side pot 1,200. | Rake 0
Board: [6d 6c 8d 9h 3h]
Seat 1: babbelz showed [2s 3c 8c Ac] and won (796) with HI: two pair, Eights and Sixes; LO: 8,6,3,2,A
Seat 2: Sensor didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 3: dav713 showed [Jc 6h Qc Jh] and won (2,192) with HI: three of a kind, Sixes
Seat 4: ayyaahh91 (button) didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 5: nrock23 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: thegrizz1111 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: Greengoz is sitting out
Seat 8: TPackage1 didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 9: Foucault showed [9s Ad 2d Ts] and won (1,396) with HI: two pair, Nines and Sixes; LO: 8,6,3,2,A

The flop was a really awkward spot for me, and I’m not at all confident that I played it well. Even with my huge draws, I should probably fold with a bet and raise in front me from competent players. Since neither of these guys managed to have trips, though, it worked out OK.

Here I managed to run a bluff, which is pretty rare in PLO8. I just don’t think the guy check-calls anything too strong on the turn:

Full Tilt Poker Game #12160227503: FTOPS Event #11 (84242375), Table 70 – 80/160 – Pot Limit Omaha H/L – 15:31:59 ET – 2009/05/11
Seat 1: NoNotReally (6,997)
Seat 2: Foucault (3,974)
Seat 3: Cardsharps_net (4,982)
Seat 4: pycb (3,764)
Seat 5: Shivalingus (6,164)
Seat 6: ColdBryan (7,386)
Seat 7: clarsonx (5,030)
Seat 8: Magik4678 (3,366)
Seat 9: aabomb09 (2,405)
ColdBryan posts the small blind of 80
clarsonx posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Foucault [As 4d 3c 2h]
Magik4678 calls 160
aabomb09 folds
NoNotReally has 15 seconds left to act
NoNotReally folds
Foucault has 15 seconds left to act
Foucault calls 160
Cardsharps_net folds
pycb folds
Shivalingus folds
ColdBryan folds
clarsonx checks
*** FLOP *** [Qc 5s Jc]
clarsonx checks
Magik4678 checks
Foucault has 15 seconds left to act
Foucault bets 269
clarsonx folds
Magik4678 calls 269
*** TURN *** [Qc 5s Jc] [6s]
Magik4678 checks
Foucault bets 1,098
Magik4678 calls 1,098
*** RIVER *** [Qc 5s Jc 6s] [9s]
Magik4678 checks
Foucault bets 2,447, and is all in
Magik4678 folds
Uncalled bet of 2,447 returned to Foucault
Foucault mucks
Foucault wins the pot (3,294)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,294 | Rake 0
Board: [Qc 5s Jc 6s 9s]
Seat 1: NoNotReally didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 2: Foucault collected (3,294), mucked
Seat 3: Cardsharps_net didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 4: pycb didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 5: Shivalingus (button) didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 6: ColdBryan (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: clarsonx (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 8: Magik4678 folded on the River
Seat 9: aabomb09 didn’t bet (folded)

This one I kinda spazzed out on. I didn’t really want to fold for one pot-sized bet, and for some reason I decided it would be better to check and induce bluffs since he’s not folding anything better. Stupid NLHE thinking to apply to PLO8. If I just pot the flop, I probably win it:

Full Tilt Poker Game #12160602843: FTOPS Event #11 (84242375), Table 70 – 100/200 – Pot Limit Omaha H/L – 15:52:05 ET – 2009/05/11
Seat 1: NoNotReally (6,489)
Seat 2: Foucault (2,673)
Seat 3: Cardsharps_net (5,718)
Seat 4: pycb (4,026)
Seat 5: Shivalingus (5,999)
Seat 6: ColdBryan (6,306)
Seat 7: clarsonx (6,950)
Seat 8: Magik4678 (3,802)
Seat 9: aabomb09 (2,105)
Foucault posts the small blind of 100
Cardsharps_net posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Foucault [Ah 8h 4c Ts]
pycb folds
Shivalingus folds
ColdBryan folds
clarsonx folds
Magik4678 folds
aabomb09 folds
NoNotReally folds
Foucault raises to 600
Cardsharps_net calls 400
*** FLOP *** [Jc Jh 3d]
Foucault checks
Cardsharps_net bets 1,200
Foucault has 15 seconds left to act
Foucault has requested TIME
Foucault raises to 2,073, and is all in
Cardsharps_net calls 873
Foucault shows [Ah 8h 4c Ts]
Cardsharps_net shows [5s Kc 6s Ac]
Cardsharps_net: nh
*** TURN *** [Jc Jh 3d] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [Jc Jh 3d 3s] [5d]
Foucault shows a pair of Jacks, for high
Cardsharps_net shows two pair, Jacks and Fives, for high
Cardsharps_net wins the pot (5,346) with two pair, Jacks and Fives
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5,346 | Rake 0
Board: [Jc Jh 3d 3s 5d]
Seat 1: NoNotReally (button) didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 2: Foucault (small blind) showed [Ah 8h 4c Ts] and lost with HI: a pair of Jacks
Seat 3: Cardsharps_net (big blind) showed [5s Kc 6s Ac] and won (5,346) with HI: two pair, Jacks and Fives
Seat 4: pycb didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 5: Shivalingus didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 6: ColdBryan didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 7: clarsonx didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 8: Magik4678 didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 9: aabomb09 didn’t bet (folded)

The 2+2 MTT community is mostly salivating over this, though some are a little concerned that the smaller events will actually discourage people from trying satellite into the bigger events. I don’t think they’re wrong, but I still expect the big events to be plenty soft thanks to tourney donks playing with relatively deep stacks for fairly big money.

The only issue for me is how to get enough money on Stars by April to enable me to play the ones I want without busting the bankroll. I may suck it up and make a wire transfer, which I’ve so far refused to do on principle since Stars makes the depositor pay the wire fees. It’s really preposterous- I pay enough rake in 10 minutes to cover the fees, and it’s clearly in their interest for me to have money on their site.

Anyway, the schedule:

Event 1 – 2 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – NL Hold’em with Rebuys [6-max]

Really looking forward to this one, will probably play the medium and the large.

• 01-L: $5.50 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 01-M: $55 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 01-H: $530 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 2 – 2 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – PL Omaha Hi/Lo

I like PLO8 and will probably play the medium, maybe the large depending on what the field looks like. I’d probably even be willing to play the large if I thought I was slightly -EV.

• 02-L: $11 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 02-M: $109 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 02-H: $1,050 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 3 – 3 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – PL 5-Card Draw

I might play the small or medium for fun, but definitely won’t be playing the large.

• 03-L: $11 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 03-M: $109 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 03-H: $1,050 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 4 – 3 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – NL Hold’em [2X Chance, turbo]

It’s hard to turn down the great value that all of these NLHE tourneys represent, but I really hate turbos. In these, the tourney donks might actually have the edge on me.

• 04-L: $16.50 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 04-M: $162 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 04-H: $1,575 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 5 – 4 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – NL Hold’em Shootout [10-max]

The large will probably be worth playing.

• 05-L: $16.50 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 05-M: $162 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 05-H: $1,575 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 6 – 4 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – PL Omaha [1R1A, 6-max]

I might play the medium, but lately I’ve no interest in PLO.

• 06-L: $22 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 06-M: $215 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 06-H: $2,100 buy-in, $400,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 7 – 5 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – H.O.R.S.E.

Recently I’ve concluded that I may not be as good at HORSE as I thought, and/or everyone else is getting better. If I play, it will probably just be the low.

• 07-L: $109 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 07-M: $1,050 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 07-H: $10,300 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 8 – 5 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – NL Hold’em [2-day]

Juicy! The medium will be fine, but it’s probably not a good idea to burn so much time on a $300 tournament. I really want to play the large though.

• 08-L: $33 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 08-M: $320 buy-in, $1,500,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 08-H: $3,150 buy-in, $3,000,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 9 – 6 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – FL Triple Draw 2-7

If I play, it would only be the low for fun. Whenever I play this game, I always end up screwing up and getting excited about an Ace or a straight.

• 09-L: $22 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 09-M: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 09-H: $2,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 10 – 6 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – NL Hold’em [Heads-Up Match Play]

Nice opportunity for heads up, will probably play medium and large.

• 10-L: $16.50 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 10-M: $162 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 10-H: $1,575 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 11 – 7 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – Mixed Hold’em [6-max]

Meh. I really hate and suck at FLHE. I’ll probably sit this one out.

• 11-L: $33 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 11-M: $320 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 11-H: $3,150 buy-in, $800,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 12 – 7 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo

I like this game, but I’m probably not good enought for the large. I’ll likely play the medium though.

• 12-L: $22 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 12-M: $215 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 12-H: $2,100 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 13 – 8 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – FL Razz

Same as above, only Razz is more frustrating. Maybe the medium, not the large.

• 13-L: $22 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 13-M: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 13-H: $2,100 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 14 – 8 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – NL Hold’em [6-max]

Tight! Medium and large are both high priorities, and I might even play the low.

• 14-L: $55 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 14-M: $530 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 14-H: $5,200 buy-in, $1,250,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 15 – 9 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – 8-Game

I’m probably too bad at too many of these games to warrant playing even the medium.

• 15-L: $44 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 15-M: $425 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 15-H: $4,175 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 16 – 9 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – 7-Card Stud

I don’t really like and suck at 7-stud, so I won’t be playing these.

• 16-L: $33 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 16-M: $320 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 16-H: $3,150 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 17 – 10 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – NL Hold’em [1R1A]

I’ll play the medium, and I’d like to play the high, but it’ll stretch the bankroll. We’ll see.

Event 18 – 10 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – PL Omaha

Meh, probably skip all of these.

• 18-L: $55 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 18-M: $530 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 18-H: $5,200 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 19 – 11 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – FL Omaha Hi/Lo

I’m not much on this game, will probably skip it.

• 19-L: $55 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 19-M: $530 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 19-H: $5,200 buy-in, $400,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 20 – 11 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – FL Hold’em [6-max]

Definitely not playing these.

• 20-L: $55 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 20-M: $530 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 20-H: $5,200 buy-in, $400,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 21 – 12 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – NL Hold’em [Heads-Up Match Play]

I’ll play the medium and maybe the low but definitely not the high.

• 21-L: $270 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 21-M: $2,600 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 21-H: $25,500 buy-in, $800,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 22 – 12 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – NL Hold’em Main Event [2-day]

I’ll play the medium for sure. I’d really like to play the high, but I don’t know if it’s going to be practical.

• 22-L: $109 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 22-M: $1,050 buy-in, $3,000,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 22-H: $10,300 buy-in, $5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament, 20/40 Blinds (8 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (MP1) (t4925)
MP2 (t5142)
CO (t5938)
Button (t4775)
SB (t8994)
BB (t5025)
UTG (t5146)
UTG+1 (t5070)

Hero’s M: 82.08

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with 10, A, 9, 2
2 folds, Hero raises to t120, 3 folds, SB raises to t400, 1 fold, Hero calls t280

Flop: (t840) 9, 10, 7 (2 players)
SB bets t840, Hero raises to t3360, SB raises to t5880, Hero calls t1165 (All-In)

Turn: (t9890) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t9890) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t9890

Results:
SB had J, A, A, 7 (Hi: flush, Ace high).
Hero had 10, A, 9, 2 (Hi: two pair, Aces and tens).
Outcome: SB won t9890

I was pretty sure the guy had AA, just because that’s about all you’ll see most people re-raise with in a spot like this. Truthfully, he ought to have AA2, preferably with a suit, to be re-raising. AA with a poor low draw isn’t that strong a hand in PLO8, especially with stacks as deep as these. That doesn’t mean I put him on AA2, because I’m not about to give a random that kind of credit, but that’s what he ought to have.

Again, when he pots the flop, he ought to have something other than AA, but that’s not a guarantee. With my top two pair and back door low draw, I was pretty sure it’d be thin but OK to get it in. I wasn’t happy to see that he had the nut flush draw, but when I ran the equity, I was actually still a coin flip:

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=6010637
pokenum  -o8 td as 9s 2c  - jc ad ac 7h  -- 9c tc 7s
Omaha Hi/Low 8-or-better: 820 enumerated boards containing 7s Tc 9c
cards          scoop  HIwin  HIlos  HItie  LOwin  LOlos  LOtie     EV
As 9s  2c  Td    349    349    463      8    160      0      0  0.493
Ac Jc  Ad  7h    361    463    349      8      0      0      0  0.507

Even if we let him keep the nut flush draw and give him the A2 that he ought to have to go along with it, my equity is still pretty good:

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=6010643
pokenum  -o8 td as 9s 2c  - jc ad ac 2h  -- 9c tc 7s
Omaha Hi/Low 8-or-better: 820 enumerated boards containing 7s Tc 9c
cards          scoop  HIwin  HIlos  HItie  LOwin  LOlos  LOtie     EV
As 9s  2c  Td    348    438    382      0      0      0    160  0.528
Ac Jc  Ad  2h    312    382    438      0      0      0    160  0.472


And even if he keeps the low draw, I'm a big favorite if he doesn't have the flush:

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=6010647
pokenum  -o8 td as 9s 2c  - jd ad ac 2h  -- 9c tc 7s
Omaha Hi/Low 8-or-better: 820 enumerated boards containing 7s Tc 9c
cards          scoop  HIwin  HIlos  HItie  LOwin  LOlos  LOtie     EV
As 9s  2c  Td    453    613    207      0      0      0    160  0.699
Ac Ad  Jd  2h    207    207    613      0      0      0    160  0.301

Resolution 2: Keep Getting Better at Other Games

I played a fair bit of PLO and watched some instructional videos, but I don’t feel I’m much better at it than I was this time last year. Actually, I’m sure I am better, but the opposition has improved more than I have. It’s quickly becoming a much more well-understood game, and I’m getting left behind. I’d like to get better at it, but I have only so much time to play, and the opportunity cost of playing break-even PLO at 2/4 rather than winning at 5/10 and 10/20 NLHE is pretty high.

As for other games, I played some HORSE occasionally and probably got a bit better at Stud/8, I final tabled a PLO8 tournament, but mostly I didn’t do anything of significance.

Goal 4: Play some WSOP preliminary events in other games (PLHE doesn’t count).
(Failed)

I think I would have been good enough to play some of the cheaper PLO and Stud/8 tournaments, but I wasn’t in Vegas for them, and I certainly don’t regret that. I did play some other games in FTOPS and WCOOP and did alright, including a final table in PLO8. Also, I was lucky enough to stake Tom Chambers (LearnedFromTV) on his way to two WSOP final tables in some non-NLHE games, so even though I suck at them I still found a way to profit!

Goal 5: Be a winner in 10/20 PLO by the end of the year. (Failed)

I fell so far short of this one it’s laughable. At the end of 2007, I was breaking even at 2/4 and 3/6 PLO. This year, I was a pretty substantial loser at 2/4, running at -6 BB/100 over 10K hands. I feel like I ran pretty bad, but I also think PLO always feels that way because it’s such a gambly game. Regardless, I’m clearly not very good at it right now.

Goal 6: Be a winner at 30/60 Stud/8 by the end of the year. (Failed)

I’m still pretty comfortable at 10/20 but I haven’t put in much time or attempted to play higher. Actually, I played exactly five hands at 30/60 and lost $600, for a win-rate of -200 BB/100. Sustainable?

Tomorrow, I’ll discuss my progress towards my third resolution for 2008: Diversify My Income Streams.

I got off to a nice start, playing well in PLO8 and running well at O/8. There was an awful player on my left who was giving me a lot of chips, but eventually he monkeyed his way into winning a huge pot:

Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament
Blinds: t25/t50
6 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t6903
UTG+1: t2857
CO: t2540
Button: t3590
Hero: t12500
BB: t6035

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is SB with :ah :ks :6h :3h
4 folds, Hero raises to t150, BB calls t100 (pot was t200).

Flop: :2d :qh :7h (t300, 2 players)
Hero bets t250, BB raises to t1050, Hero raises to t3450, BB raises to t5850, Hero raises to t8250, BB calls all-in t35.
Uncalled bets: t2365 returned to Hero.

Turn: :tc (t12070, 1 player + 1 all-in – Main pot: t12070)

River: :3d (t12070, 1 player + 1 all-in – Main pot: t12070)

Results:
Final pot: t12070

I flopped the nut flush draw and the nut low draw with counterfeit protection, and this guy got it all in with me for 120 BB’s with the second nut low draw and an underpair to the board: Td As 4s 4c. The board bricks out, and I lose a pot that would have put me in top 1%.

I did get him back eventually though:

Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament
Blinds: t40/t80
6 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t7156
UTG+1: t2234
CO: t8584
Button: t8394
Hero: t5035
BB: t11526

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is SB with :6h :ah :3c :7c
3 folds, Button raises to t240, Hero calls t200 (pot was t360), BB calls t160 (pot was t560).

Flop: :js :3h :as (t720, 3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets t80, Button raises to t160, Hero raises to t1280, BB calls t1200 (pot was t2240), Button folds.

Turn: :4s (t3440, 2 players)
Hero bets t2515, BB calls t2515 (pot was t5955).

River: :qc (t8470, 2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks.

Results:
Final pot: t8470

I couldn’t believe it when I scooped this pot. There was only about 1000 left in the effective stacks, but I was so sure I was smoked that I didn’t even think I had good equity against his checking range. I was just hoping he would check it back and I could escape with half. Turns out he had 4d Qh 3d 5s, having called the turn with nothing but a bad low draw and two pair.

I lasted for about 6 hours, which only got me through 75% of the field or so, before getting pretty short and busting in some nondescript way.

One key hand gave me some chips to work with:

Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t75/t150
8 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t5250
UTG+1: t3825
MP1: t8670
MP2: t14616
CO: t2525
Button: t9246
SB: t4035
Hero: t4745

Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is BB with :2c :9c :kh :ah
UTG raises to t450, 2 folds, MP2 calls t450 (pot was t675), 3 folds, Hero calls t300 (pot was t1125).

Flop: :5h :5d :4h (t1425, 3 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets t1100, MP2 calls t1100 (pot was t2525), Hero raises all-in t4295, 2 folds.
Uncalled bets: t3195 returned to Hero.

Results:
Final pot: t4725

I was pretty sure UTG had AA, because that’s about all most people will raise UTG. I didn’t know if he would fold to a shove or not, but it didn’t really matter. As long as he didn’t have AA2x, I would be in OK shape. Scooping with no showdown was pretty sweet.

About four and a half hours into the tournament, I’d gone card dead and blinds were getting big. I picked up Aces in a great spot, but it didn’t end well:

Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t250/t500
9 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t8137
UTG+1: t14289
MP1: t8950
MP2: t11764
MP3: t22400
Hero: t9381
Button: t12625
SB: t8978
BB: t9928

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is CO with :6s :jh :ah :as
2 folds, MP1 raises to t1750, MP2 calls t1750 (pot was t2500), MP3 folds, Hero raises to t7750, 4 folds, MP2 raises all-in t11764, Hero calls all-in t1631.
Uncalled bets: t2383 returned to MP2.

Flop: :4c :kc :2c (t-4381, 0 player + 2 all-in – Main pot: t21262)

Turn: :9h (t-4381, 0 player + 2 all-in – Main pot: t21262)

River: :2d (t-4381, 0 player + 2 all-in – Main pot: t21262)

Results:
Final pot: t-4381

The guy who called me with Ax 8h 5h 2x and rivered the scoop was none other than WSOP champion Joe Hachem! I was thinking it was kind of a questionable call, but when I ran his equity against any Aces, which is probably what my range is, he’s only a 60/40 dog. Even if you give me one low card, it only improves to 63/37. In related news, Pro Poker Tools is an amazing free resource that enables you to run simulations like this.

Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t200/t400
8 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t18739
UTG+1: t19416
Hero: t7646
MP2: t31489
CO: t9845
Button: t5398
SB: t11072
BB: t1246

Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is MP1 with :kc :7d :9c :ad
2 folds, Hero raises to t1111, MP2 calls t1111 (pot was t1711), 4 folds.

Flop: :kd :td :ah (t2822, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks.

Turn: :jc (t2822, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets t1600, Hero calls t1600 (pot was t4422).

River: :8d (t6022, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks.

Results:
Final pot: t6022
Villain shows [As 2c 3s 5h]

Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t400/t800
8 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t15439
Hero: t27260
MP1: t21723
MP2: t7032
CO: t7895
Button: t7827
SB: t7222
BB: t9610

Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is UTG+1 with :ah :2h :tc :kc
UTG folds, Hero raises to t2222, 5 folds, BB calls t1422 (pot was t3422).

Flop: :jc :td :ks (t4844, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

Turn: :9s (t4844, 2 players)
BB bets t2400, Hero calls t2400 (pot was t7244).

River: :4d (t9644, 2 players)
BB is all-in t4988, Hero calls t4988 (pot was t14632).

Results:
Final pot: t19620
Villain shows [8d 5s Kh Ad]

Sorry I know it sucks to look at these without suit pictures, but this is the only converter than can handle PLO8. In the first one I made top two and the nut flush draw on a broadway flop. In PLO high, it’s very dangerous to give a free card here since a T, J, or Q are all disastrous cards. It’s actually a bit less of a concern in PLO8 because hand ranges are weighted towards lower cards. In other words, four broadway cards on the board is a bit less worrisome because straights will be a smaller part of your opponents’ ranges; they’ll often be playing smaller cards looking to flop low. There are thus also fewer ways for them to pay you off.

In the first hand, the nut flush draw also makes it safer to induce bluffs. When I river the nuts, I stick with the plan of inducing a bluff, especially since my opponent will probably bet most of his flushes for value anyway. Even though I didn’t get the bluff, you can see that the guy didn’t have a hand that was calling a bet.

In the second hand, it’s scarier since I don’t have redraws, but my hand was less strong and I couldn’t stand a check-raise. Having played it as I did, I feel compelled to call down. I though his range would be polarized to straights or bluffs. Mostly it was a bad pre-flop call on his part, even for a discount.

The Final Table:

Martin Klaser: 345,000
Erik Seidel: 320,000
Michael Fetter: 290,000
Tom Chambers: 283,000
Jonathan Maren: 210,000
Casey Kastle: 170,000
Larry Wright: 150,000
Joseph Haddad: 135,000
Chad Burum: 120,000

Average Stack: 216,000

Payouts

1 $216,219
2 $137,985
3 $83,538
4 $68,304
5 $56,019
6 $44,206
7 $34,389
8 $27,027
9 $19,656

This is going to be broadcast live (“with no hole cards and horrible commentary”, Tom warns) on ESPN360 at 2PM Vegas time today. I’ve got a ton of work to do before leaving town tomorrow, but I’ll probably have this on in the background anyway.

One Two times, dealer!

“…nowhere in poker literature was truly useful instructions on where to start. Everybody says the same thing: Play four cards that work together, A-A-J-T and A-A-K-K are the best hands, and four connecting cards are playable. But what else is playable and what am I trying to do when I see the flop?”

The resulting book is far from the definitive word on PLO strategy, but it is an excellent introduction to the game, which, as Hwang points out, was a market niche badly in need of filling.

The author proposes a simple but effective strategy geared towards the low-stakes, full-ring PLO games primarily found in brick and mortar casinos. Echoing the advice of other Omaha authors, Hwang argues that PLO is a game of straights. In other words, the winning hand at the river will often be a straight.

But PLO is also a flop game, even more so than Hold ‘Em, and that is where most of the fireworks happen. Although big pots emerge most frequently when a monster draw runs into the flopped nuts, Hwang refutes the common misconception that PLO is primarily a game of luck and gigantic post-flop coin flips. Instead, he claims,

“there are a variety of common big-pot situations where not only does one player usually have the other one smashed, but in some cases will be on a total freeroll. Our goal is to be the one on the dominant end when the big pots get played: this involves first recognizing what those big-pot situations are, and then identifying the hands that have the potential to put us in the position to get the edge in those spots.”

This is exactly what he goes on to do, beginning with a discussion of the most common profitable flop situations in which an Omaha player may find himself. Just as the Hold ‘Em player is accustomed to winning big pots when he flops an overpair versus top pair top kicker or a set versus an overpair, the PLO player has his own set of dream flop scenarios, such as the Nut Straight Freeroll (nut straight with re-draws to a flush, full house, or higher straight versus the same straight without redraws) and the Dominating Draw (a 16-out draw to the nuts versus a lower draw to non-nut hands, or a pair and a wrap draw versus a bare wrap draw, for instance).

Having laid out these profitable situations on which one’s sights should be set, Hwang next considers which starting hands are most likely to produce such situations: combinations containing suited Aces and four connecting cards (gaps at the bottom only, if at all), and pairs accompanied by either of these. Higher is better, in all cases. These hands form the core of Hwang’s pre-flop strategy, which unfortunately cannot be laid out quite as clearly as can its hold ’em equivalents, given the much larger set of possible Omaha starting hands.

Hwang gives some consideration to how to play these hands pre-flop as well, such as whether to enter with a call or a raise, what can be played from which position, and what is still viable when the pot has already been raised. Frankly, this isn’t the strongest part of the book, and the advice here sometimes feels haphazard and a little weak. Still, the reader does accumulate a feel for what works by studying Hwang’s many examples, and this should be enough to get him started at the table, where he can work out his own answers to these questions.

Returning to the discussion of ideal flop situations, Big Play Strategy next discusses how much heat different kinds of hands can handle post-flop. Hwang devotes quite a lot of pages and examples to what is really a fairly simple strategy: only draw to the nuts, play big draws aggressively, don’t slowplay, bluff when your opponents show weakness. It’s not quite fair to call the many quizzes and example hands “filler”, but I’d rather poker books stuck to content and left the study aids to high school textbooks. A lot of the material is repetitive or downright irrelevant.

Hwang’s strategy is a good one, especially for relatively passive and straight-forward full ring live games. I don’t imagine it would adapt well to the short-handed games that are more popular online or to games with tricker and more aggressive opponents. One weakness in particular that shows up in some of the sample hands is an eagerness to bet big and take down the pot in situations where a hand is likely to be way ahead or way behind of an opponent. Though Hwang’s admonitions against slow-playing are generally well taken, it may not be best to bet pot again with AQQ8 on an AA6K board after getting called on the flop.

When I saw that Hwang included sections on O8 and PLO8, I was more than a little skeptical that he could cover three games adequately in one book. After seeing how little space he required to offer some excellent insights into PLO, though, and how much space he devoted to review, reiteration, and even the occasional bad beat story, I had renewed hope. As it turns out, he does an admirable job with both of the other games.

His approach is similar, identifying the most profitable post-flop situations and then working backwards to derive a pre-flop strategy. His recommendations concerning starting hands and how to play them is generally solid in both cases, though his bias for post-flop play occasionally leads him to disregard preflop edges. With A-A-3-x or A-A-4-x in O8, for instance, he advises a limp “in a ‘zoo’ game where everybody is going to call your raise.” Even if it will be necessary to give up on many flops, it’s hard to see a reason not to make a raise that will be called by so many hopeless hands that will both lose equity pre-flop and connect with fewer flops than this relative monster. Hwang also seems a bit too willing to give up on non-nut high hands for a fixed limit game where most opponents are playing primarily low cards.

Aside from these shortcomings, though, the O8 section is nearly as strong on post-flop play as on pre-flop strategy. It contains good advice on value betting, raising to clear the field and promote hands, semi-bluffing, and ‘demi-bluffing’ the river with the nuts in one direction in hopes of knocking an opponent off of half the pot.

Demi-bluffing plays an even larger role in the pot limit version of the game, where the bets are bigger and the bare nuts in one direction must sometimes be folded. In PLO8, high hands with any kind of low potential, like K-K-3-2, gain a lot of playability from the demi-bluff.

Hwang clearly highlights this and other differences between PLO8, O8 , and PLO. On the other, he makes good use of the similarities between the games to cover all three in a single book. Of course, none is covered in all its intricacies. But Pot Limit Omaha: The Big Play Strategy does a surprisingly good job of introducing all three of these games by orienting new players not just to the nuts and bolts but to the guiding objectives, the profitable situations towards that game’s strategy is directed.

Perhaps more importantly, Hwang’s fondness for Omaha shines through on every page, encouraging readers to recognize that it can be both fun and profitable. His book will certainly contribute to his dream of seeing “small stakes PLO games… become standard in card rooms across America.”

One of the first I played, I opened from late position with AQJ3 and was called by the small blind. The flop was Ac Qc 4c. I had no clubs, but I bet it anyway when it was checked to me, since I didn’t want to give a free card to a bad low draw or invite a turn bluff. He called very quickly, and I was ready to be done with it, but then I turned an Ace, giving me the nuts. He checked, I potted it, and he quickly called again. The river was a fourth club, functionally a blank. He checked, I potted it again, and again he quickly called with 44xx for the worst possible full house.

Just like that, I was one of the chipleaders, but it didn’t last. I forget how I lost the chips, but by the 50/100 level, I had about 1100 chips. I won a pre-flop all in with AAxx vs QQxx, picked up another medium pot with a bet when I flopped the nuts against multiple callers of a pre-flop raise, and then I just kind of built from there for a while.

Obviously I’m leaving a lot out, but the next hand I remember, I was sitting on like 25,000 chips at the 300/600 level. Action folded to me in the SB with AA25, one of the best possible PLO8 hands. I raised to 1800, and the BB, who had me covered, called. The flop came 774r, giving me the nut low draw and likely the best high hand. Still, I didn’t like the idea of getting raised on this flop, so I elected to check and try to induce a bluff, since there weren’t really any turn cards I was worried about. My opponent bet about half pot, and I called.

A 9s on the turn didn’t change anything, and I checked and called another half-pot bet. At this point, I was representing just a low draw, and I was hoping that it wouldn’t get there on the river so that my opponent would give more action with worse hands. Frankly, even though I was inducing bluffs, all his betting was making me nervous, because people tend to play pretty straight-forwardly in PLO8.

The river was indeed a non-low brick, and I checked. He quickly shoved. I wasn’t happy about it, but as played, my hand looked a lot like a busted low draw, and I had to call. To my delight, my opponent had like QT35 or something, and I won a monstrous pot that catapaulted me into the chiplead with about 50 players left.

There 40 spots getting paid, and almost everyone seemed concerned about cashing. The two players on my right were very vocal about how much they didn’t want to bubble and how intently they were watching short stacks at other tables. I proceeded to absolutely rape the bubble, raising at least 75% of my hands at an 8-handed table. The only guy who ever played back at me over the course of more than an hour had AA26, but he had been ground down too short to do much damage to me. By the end of the bubble, I had 130,000 chips and was still chipleader.

I had to slow down a lot at that point because I had the image of a bully and all the short stacks were eager to double up and go home now that they had made the money. I folded around for a while without ever losing the chiplead, and eventually I got AAxx in my BB against a button raise. I re-potted, which conveniently left just barely a pot-sized bet in my opponent’s stack. The flop was Ac8c3, giving me the nut high. However, I didn’t have any kind of low so I decided just to shove and hope that my opponent would fold some hands, like 75xx, that would be entitled to half the pot. He tanked and eventually called with something like Ax Qd 6c 2c x. It wasn’t a bad call, and unfortunately he turned a flush to scoop me.

That put a real hurting on my stack, as did a bluff I attempted after calling a raise with A236 or something similar. The flop came T94, not doing much for me, and my opponent, one of the more aggressive at the table, bet at it. The thing is that of the hands he’d be raising from early position, most don’t hit this flop very well. Most of his range should consist of low cards. He called the raise, though, and a turn J deterred me from any further bluffing.

After that I rebuild, again I don’t recall exactly how. Nath from 2+2 was at my table and getting really upset with my aggression. He was actually being a giant ass about it, insulting me and my play in the chat box off and on for over an hour. I don’t think he recognized my UB screenname, but that’s really beside the point.

Anyway, at one point, I called an early position raise of his with A237 and got pretty much a gin flop: 456, giving me the second nut high and the nut low. He checked, and I was 100% sure he was looking to check-raise, so I just bet my hand. Sure enough, he moved in with I think AJ36, which I guess made second nut low, a flush draw to the J, and top pair. I was in pretty good shape, but his flush got there and we ended up chopping.

I quieted down for a while, but opened back up on the final table bubble. I pulled off a pretty key suckout with QQxx > AAxx and came into the final table 2nd of 10. Unfortunately, early on I called another Nath raise with A236 and a Kh 7x 4h flop. I had the Ah but nothing to go with it, so it didn’t affect much. This time he bet out, and I elected to shove. Even though I pretty much have a low only hand and he could easily have A2 as well, I have good counterfeit protection (ie a 2 or an A will still give me the nut low, since I also hold a 3), I have a gut shot that provides 3 nut outs, and frankly this is a tough board for Nath to hit hard. The thing is that I don’t know how much of his betting range consists of hands that would fold, but as for his pre-flop range, only his AK, AA, and sets are really happy as high hands.

Unfortunately, he did have a set of 4’s and snap-called my shove. He had no low, but none got there, so he scooped me. The next hand, I committed with 9 BB stack with A224 or something and lost to a really dominating hand like AA24. I finished 9th, which was pretty disappointing given where I’d been sitting for the latter half of the tournament, but I did run pretty well to get there, so I can’t complain too much.

Coming Through the Back Door

Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Ring game
Blinds: $25/$50
9 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is UTG+1 with
UTG calls, Hero calls, 5 folds, SB calls, BB checks.

Flop: ($200, 4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $200, SB calls, 2 folds.

Turn: ($600, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $600, SB calls.

River: ($1800, 2 players)
SB bets $1800, Hero raises all-in $2065, SB calls.

Results:
Final pot: $5930
Hero showed Ac 9c 2s 7d
SB showed As Tc 4d 9s

Flop is just a pure bluff, and probably not a good one. The thing is that this is a very tough board to hit hard, since sets are the only truly strong high hands, and the low combos that people play most often (A2 and A3) both missed. Turns out SB did have the nut low draw and a gutshot and just didn’t know enough to fast play it. Works for me.

A Little More Follow-Through

Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Ring game
Blinds: $40/$80
9 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is UTG+1 with
UTG folds, Hero calls, 6 folds, 6 folds, BB checks.

Flop: ($200, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $142, BB calls.

Turn: ($484, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $484, BB folds.
Uncalled bets: $484 returned to Hero.

Results:
Final pot: $484

Same bluff as before, but this time I fire again because this board is pretty scary for a guy playing a hand out of the blinds. I could easily have a scooping hand like A5, and with so much money behind, it’s tough for him to continue against a pot-sized bet here.

Double Barrel Vs. Gobboboy

Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Ring game
Blinds: $80/$160
9 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is MP3 with
4 folds, Hero raises to $448, CO folds, Button calls, 2 folds.

Flop: ($1136, 2 players)
Hero bets $750, Button calls.

Turn: ($2636, 2 players)
Hero bets $2636, Button folds.
Uncalled bets: $2636 returned to Hero.

Results:
Final pot: $2636

This was against 2+2’s Gobboboy. I just had a feeling he was going to float the flop kind of light against me, even though he should probably have a 2 to call here, so when I picked up the nut low draw on the turn, I figured it was a good spot to semi-bluff.

Go Ahead

Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Ring game
Blinds: $100/$200
9 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is BB with
2 folds, MP1 calls, MP2 folds, MP3 calls, CO calls, 2 folds, 2 folds, Hero checks.

Flop: ($900, 4 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks, MP3 checks, CO checks.

Turn: ($900, 4 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks, MP3 checks, CO bets $900, Hero calls, 2 folds.

River: ($2700, 2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $2700, Hero calls.

Results:
Final pot: $8100
Hero showed 4s 5c 2s 8c
CO showed 7h 4d 6s 5s

This pot was against a guy named The Omaholic. I believe he was ranked on Pocket 5’s, and you’d think a guy with a name like that would be good at Omaha, but he was actually an overly loose and aggressive maniac. Hence my check and call line.

Another Nice One Vs. The Omaholic

Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Ring game
Blinds: $120/$240
9 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is SB with
4 folds, MP3 raises to $480, 2 folds, Hero calls, BB calls.

Flop: ($1440, 3 players)
Hero bets $1261, BB folds, MP3 raises to $5223, Hero raises all-in $6261, MP3 calls.

Turn: ($13962, 1 player + 1 all-in – Main pot: $13962)

River: ($13962, 1 player + 1 all-in – Main pot: $13962)

Results:
Final pot: $13962
Hero showed Kh 2d Th Ah
MP3 showed Ac 9h 7c 4s

Classic Omaha Bluff

Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Ring game
Blinds: $250/$500
9 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is BB with
5 folds, CO raises to $1500, 2 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: ($3250, 2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks.

Turn: ($3250, 2 players)
Hero bets $3250, CO calls.

River: ($9750, 2 players)
Hero is all-in $9375, CO folds.
Uncalled bets: $9375 returned to Hero.

Results:
Final pot: $9750

Since I hold the As, I know my opponent can’t have the nuts. So it’s a clear semi-bluff spot on the turn, and with no showdown value, there’s only one thing to do on the river….

This Was Painful

Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Ring game
Blinds: $300/$600
9 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: $15469
UTG+1: $28344
MP1: $12940
MP2: $14371
MP3: $35081
CO: $5436
Button: $17019
Hero: $11303
BB: $15488

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is SB with
2 folds, MP1 raises to $1501, 4 folds, Hero calls, BB calls.

Flop: ($4503, 3 players)
Hero bets $2802, BB folds, MP1 raises all-in $11439, Hero calls all-in $7000.
Uncalled bets: $1637 returned to MP1.

Turn: ($24107, 0 player + 2 all-in – Main pot: $24107)

River: ($24107, 0 player + 2 all-in – Main pot: $24107)

Results:
Final pot: $24107
Hero showed 2s 2h Ah 3c
MP1 showed 8d 2c 4d Ac

It was tempting to check-raise here, but I didn’t want to see the flop check through, and a lot of the hands that will get it in against me on the flop are going to be in pretty bad shape since I have so many nut draws and redraws. I was actually really surprised to run this on Two Dimes and learn that I was only about a 57% favorite. Goes to show you how much even a weak pair can improve your equity when getting it in with a draw.

Oooof

Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Ring game
Blinds: $300/$600
7 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (7 players) Hero is BB with
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, 3 folds, SB calls, Hero checks.

Flop: ($1800, 3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG+1 checks.

Turn: ($1800, 3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1275, UTG+1 calls, SB raises to $3000, Hero calls, UTG+1 folds.

River: ($9075, 2 players)
SB is all-in $3972, Hero calls.

Results:
Final pot: $17019
SB showed 3c 2h Th 6c
Hero mucks 3h 4h 8h 8c

This was against Assani Fisher, also from 2+2. I was thinking his tiny turn check-raise meant that he had the nuts for half the pot but no shot at the other half and wanted to keep both of us in the pot so that we’d get quartered. I still don’t know whether I should have folded turn, but I never really recovered from this. I short stacked it a while but eventually lost some uninteresting showdowns and that was that.

Thankfully, I made more than enough playing PLO8 cash games at the same time to pay for the tournament!

Stack sizes:
UTG: $588
UTG+1: $1034.10
Hero: $531
CO: $276.10
Button: $405
SB: $193.50
BB: $770.30

Pre-flop: (7 players) Hero is MP1 with :ad :7s :4s :jd
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, Hero calls $6 (pot was $15), 2 folds, SB calls, BB checks.

Flop: :8d :as :3d ($24, 4 players)
SB bets $24, BB calls, UTG+1 raises to $102, Hero calls $102 (pot was $174), SB raises to $204, BB calls, UTG+1 raises to $948, Hero calls all-in $423, SB calls all-in $7.5, BB calls all-in $584.3.
Uncalled bets: $159.7 returned to UTG+1.

Turn: :4c ($2023.6, 1 player + 3 all-in – Main pot: $870, Sidepot 1: $940.5, Sidepot 2: $213.1)

River: :kc ($2023.6, 1 player + 3 all-in – Main pot: $870, Sidepot 1: $940.5, Sidepot 2: $213.1)

Results:
Final pot: $2023.6
SB showed 9h 5h 2c 8c
BB showed 4h 2s Th Ah
UTG+1 showed 4d Kd 2d Ts
Hero showed Ad 7s 4s Jd

Hand reading can be difficult in PLO8, especially in big multi-way pots, because there are so many different combinations of draws and made hands that anyone could have. Initially I’m trying not to play too big of a pot with top pair and the nut flush draw but only a very weak low draw, so once all the money started going in, I was worried. I tanked for a while before calling. I just didn’t know how to determine how likely it was for others to be holding some of my flush outs, for any of my two pair outs to be good, whether I had any outs to take the low, etc.

I lated used Poker Tracker Omaha to look at everyone’s equity, and it turns out I was the favorite, with 35.9% equity. UTG+1 had 25.2% with the nut low and second nut flush draw- her equity would have gone through the roof if I had folded. The BB had 26.9% with top pair and the nut low, and the SB had only 12% equity with the second nut low and middle pair.

According to Two Dimes, I’m in even better shape for the side pot, with 43.7% equity.

Of course, my equity versus the hands they actually had is only part of the story. Ideally, I’d want to know my equity versus the range of hands they could have, but that quickly becomes a nightmare to calculate in PLO8. but if someone had had, for instance, a set of 8’s or 3’s, my equity would have gone way down.

I ended up busting in a kind of bad spot, I completed AKJJ in the SB against a limper sitting on a 9K stack at 500/1000. The flop was KK4 with two spades I bet a little over half pot, the BB called, and the limper folded. The turn was another 4, and I decided to check (remember, in PLO8, I must use two cards from my hand so I don’t have the nuts here- I’m behind 44 and K4). I was going to call a shove and just hope my opponent was dumb enough to show up with a flush draw or a worse K. He checked also, and the river was another 4.

At this point, I had one pot-sized bet left in my stack. I’m far from sure about this, but it seems to me that shoving here is best without a specific read (I was new to the table), since I’m not sure I can check-fold, I may get called by worse (if the guy is bad) or I may fold out a chop (if the guy is good but maybe a little weak). So I shoved, and he beat me into the pot with his quad 4’s. He did have K4 on the flop, so he had the nuts the entire time.

I don’t have Poker Tracker Omaha right now, but I may purchase it. If I do, then I’ll probably do a longer review of this tournament, since there were a few more interesting spots. However, it’s tedious to review a raw hand history, so this won’t happen unless I do buy PTO.

Tomorrow’s Stud/8 is a $500, but I’m going to play it anyway. I think I’m pretty strong at Stud/8, and I expect that there will be both a lot of downright bad poker players and a lot of good NLHE players who don’t really know Stud/8. But we’ll see.

One guy, a pretty reasonable player, open limped in middle position, and I called $2 more from the SB with Ac3dKs6s. The flop came As Ad 3s, I potted it for $12, the BB folded, and then the limper re-potted for $48. Effective stacks at this point were $400, and I elected to fold. Against a worse player or someone on a short stack, I’d be more inclined to get in here, since they could be overplaying trips, but I think this guy shows up with A3 plus a low draw quite often.

Since my hand has very little hope of improving, I could well get 100BB’s in praying for a chop. For instance, if I’m up against A238, I’ve got barely 40% equity even though I currently have the nuts. Even if he doesn’t have the nuts, something like A45K is still a small favorite against me, and that’s really the best case scenario if my read is correct that this guy is not an idiot.

This is mostly something that comes up with deep stacks, so it may not be as much of an issue in tomorrow’s tournament, though with the WCOOP structure I guess stacks will be deep for a while.