Copyright 2005 Full
Tilt Poker
July 18, 2005
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Poker Lesson: Dealer,
Leave the Bets in Front of the Players.
Author: Greg Mascio
It's a familiar refrain at the Omaha/8
table, when the betting is capped on the turn in a multi-way pot.
In theory, this request is about saving time -- it's easier to
divide the chips at the end of the hand when they're not in one
monster pile at the center of the table. But the subtext is clear.
"Give us the damn river already!"
It's often just one pot like this one that makes
the difference at the end of the day between winner and loser,
genius and live one. And playing these hands correctly goes a
long way toward determining one's success in this sometimes volatile
game.
Other than catching gin on the river, however, how
does one go about getting out as cheaply as possible when beat,
and maximizing profit when holding the nuts?
The first and most important thing, especially in
Omaha/8, is knowing where you're at on every street. Many players
will simply not throw a hand away even when they're sure they're
beat in a big pot. They call it down just to find out what they
were right about four bets ago.
A typical hand where you can get into trouble is
flopping two pair with a hand like A-3-6-K. The flop comes A-3-J,
with a flush draw you don't hold. You're first to act and fire
a bet into the pot. It then gets raised, called, called and three-bet
by the time it gets back to you. You very well could be drawing
extremely thin at this point. If an Ace comes, it's likely you
hold the second-best full house. If you catch a King on the turn,
your two pair might be beat by the 10-Q-K wrap who called all
those bets on the flop. If a 6 comes, you're still likely beat
by Aces and Jacks, and all the made lows and flush draws are Freerolling
on you.
Still, most unseasoned players call in this spot
nearly 100 percent of the time. Why? One reason is because average-to-below-average
players rarely ever make a bet and subsequently fold on the same
street. I almost never see this. To be a winning player, especially
in O/8, you have to be able to lay down your losers.
On the other hand, say that same A-3-J flop comes
down and you hold A-2-4-5 with the nut flush draw. Yes, you have
a monster. You're first to act and bet, and again it gets raised
and three bet. This time you cap it. The turn comes a deuce. Now
it's time to make extra bets.
With all the action that came behind you on the
flop, you can be almost certain someone will bet if you check.
You check, which puts the thought into the other player's mind
that you may have been counterfeited, or at best are holding a
set. After a bet and a few calls, now you are in position to make
that check raise -- and you might not even lose some of the people
drawing dead! Excuse No. 1 why a losing player calls when drawing
dead? "The pot is too big."
If you had bet out on the turn when the deuce hit
after capping it on the flop, any above-average player would most
likely put you on your hand and you won't get any action. That
same player may still call your check-raise, perhaps hoping to
fill up on the end, but at least he will have to pay to get there.
There are a lot of large multi-way pots in O/8.
It's easy to be tempted by the amount of money in the center of
the table. But, like in most forms of poker, a hand that is usually
strong heads-up or three handed simply doesn't carry the same
weight in a multi-way pot against multiple draws. And in O/8,
you might have to fend off five or six players, each holding four
cards in their hand. It's just flat tough to make two pair on
the flop hold up in that case.
Omaha-Eight-or-Better
is all about holding the nuts or at least drawing to them. Its
one reason why A-2 with two blanks -- like say 8-10 -- is such
a dangerous hand. It gets played pre-flop almost every time, yet
it rarely gets more than half the pot, and costs too much when
the low that doesn't get there.
Hands that work together for both high and low,
like A-2-Q-K or A-2-4-K (I'll take mine double suited, thanks)
are key. "Nut-Nut" is a beautiful thing, especially
at the end of a monster pot where the dealer has to do nothing
with all those chips in front of everybody but push them to you.
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