What are these guys raising with?

Does anybody understand the raising standards for the majority of LL O8 players? IT truly baffles me when people are raising with hands like 66KJ. Do they really think that a pair and two high cards makes for a strong holding? Even if you took the game as being the same as hold'em, can't they realize that there can easily be better high hands than theirs out there? This post really has no point, but it truly does confuse me. I mean, what COULD they be thinking?

There are players in my O/8 pokerstat database who completely baffle me when I look at their stats and hand histories. These are players who play a very high % of hands (80% or more), raise with the kind of trash you refer to (or possibly just as bad call raises in bad position with similar trash), play nearly every hand to showdown and still manage to be overall winning players. Luck is a powerful force in the universe apparently.


I understand there are players who call many hands (obviously some marginal ones) but play well after the flop to compensate for this but the above players, to me, do not fit this profile yet still win over a reasonable significant number of hands.

"people are raising with hands like 66KJ"


Wanderer - Well, I probably wouldn't be voluntarily playing that particular hand. However, I might raise with a hand from which you wouldn't expect a raise and not raise with a hand from which you would expect a raise.


When I try to make sense out of some opponent's raises, it often seems as though they're raising with trash hands to get people to call when they raise with good hands. Sometimes they do it too much and lose too much with their false advertising. But often they make it very difficult for me to know when I should suspect they are bluffing and when they have the goods. And if they make it hard enough for me, I can't play in the game with them. The last thing you want to do in a loose game of Omaha-8 is start chasing bets from opponents when you should show respect by folding. If you can get someone doing that for you, chasing your nut hand bets with non-nut hands, then you have them. They'll pay off every time you make a hand.


Watch someone who raises pre-flop with trash carefully and see if they keep it up, or if they back off and start playing very tightly, only raising with very strong hands. They may be trying to look stupid enough to get you chasing them with mediocre hands.


On the other hand, occasionally you run into someone who is genuinely stupid. The trick is knowing the difference.


Just my opinion.


Buzz

Thank you Buzz. That really is a good point. At this point in my playing career, especially at ohmaha, I sometimes forget that there are players savvy enough to play trash early to sell their better hands. Of course, there are plenty of the stupid ones out there too, especially as you go down in limits. And I hope that next time I have A24K double suited, there is someone out there raising it up with the good ol 36TT rainbow. I have really grown to love omaha as I play it more because at these lower limits anyway, the opportunities for profit are many and easily exploitable. It's also fun to play shorthanded as many people still think you still need premium hands to win. Thanks again for the input.

most low-limit players play to play. bottom line, good for us and bad for them.

The nice thing about Omaha and O8 is that they can be traps for the unwary hold 'em player. KJ66 has two playable hold 'em hands: KJ and 66. If the K or J is suited with one of the 6's there are three. And if the whole mess is double suited, we have no less than four playable hands, ladies and gentlemen! This is the attraction of Omaha: more cards = more hands. Let's thank our lucky stars. I can't think of anything more boring than a table full of expert O8 players. It could go hours without anything happening.

Broker - Oh, they’re thinking. You can be sure of that. They may not be thinking along the same lines as you, and their thought processes may not lead them to fruitful conclusions - but they’re certainly thinking.


You can take the point of view that what they are thinking is unimportant or you can take the point of view that understanding what they are thinking might make you a better poker player. Your choice.


Just my opinion.


Buzz

Mack - You wrote, "The nice thing about Omaha and O8 is that they can be traps for the unwary hold 'em player."


Very insightful. Some opponents seem to play O-8 as though they were playing THE, which often simply amounts to poor play. I think you have to bide your time and wait your turn to take advantage of an opponent who is playing poorly. Yes, you want them in the game.


Buzz