Famous First Questions

[Perseus]

Ok. the reason I am interested in learning O8 is because I feel that it can be very profitable. When in Europe, I watched many Europeans play the game at various tournaments. However, in America it seems that most people have NO IDEA how to play...kinda like hold'em 3 years ago. I feel that playing O8 online would be more profitable than playing hold'em, simply because most people do not know how to play, and play to "take a break" from hold'em...

..ok, so there it is. My first question is, am I a moron in my thinking? Is O8 online, or live in the US, harder to win at then say the 3/6 or 5/10 hold'em party game??

Second question. Playing the 2/4 party O8 game, what is a reasonable expectation for earning BB/100, assuming a winning player. For instance, winning players at the 3/6 party game can multitable a pretty solid 2BB/100. Does this hold true for O8, or are some of you guys doing 5BB/100 pretty easily?

Third question. Does anyone have a readily available O8 starting hand chart online...I've only been playing for 2 hours today and I have a headache! Aye, I need to read a book...so many cards...and..meltdown... /images/graemlins/confused.gif

Thank you for any replies. Again, I apologize for the "newbie" questions. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Runner Runner]

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.ok, so there it is. My first question is, am I a moron in my thinking? Is O8 online, or live in the US, harder to win at then say the 3/6 or 5/10 hold'em party game??

[/ QUOTE ]

O8 games are usually softer at a given limit then a holdem game at the same limit, especially in live poker. On Party, the O8 games have tightened up a bit ($2/4 or $3/6), but I find them to be slightly more profitable then holdem at the same limits.

[ QUOTE ]
Second question. Playing the 2/4 party O8 game, what is a reasonable expectation for earning BB/100, assuming a winning player. For instance, winning players at the 3/6 party game can multitable a pretty solid 2BB/100. Does this hold true for O8, or are some of you guys doing 5BB/100 pretty easily?


[/ QUOTE ]

When the games are good 2 to 3bb's/100 is achievable. 5BB's, I don't think so, the games aren't as good as they were a couple years ago. You need a super juicy game with over 7+ seeing the flop to hit that kind of earn rate.

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Third question. Does anyone have a readily available O8 starting hand chart online

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know of anything. I think your best bet is to search the forums.

[Moneyline]

Question 1: 08 is very easy to play against bad players. Casual poker players are typically much worse at 08 than they are at hold 'em, so games can be extraordinarily profitable. On the other hand, because conservative play is called for in loose games, 08 is often a haven for grumpy rocks. In other words, game selection is very important. I think the real reason to learn 08 is because it's a part of nearly every mixed game (O.E, H.O.R.S.E, etc.) So if you aspire to play in mixed games 08 is a game you must learn to play well.

Question 2: There are people who claim (quite vigorously) they make 7 BB/hour playing 6 max. 08. I'm not sure I believe them, but the short answer is that there is a LOT of profit in 08.

Question 3: IMO, there has yet to be a good starting hand chart made for 08. Some claim that a good chart is not possible because there are many possible hands and hand selection can get very situational. I don't agree with this, but I think I am in the minority. However, there are a few okay starting hand charts. Here is a link to one of them: http://ehutchison.homestead.com/omahasystem.html

[benfranklin]

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08 is often a haven for grumpy rocks.

[/ QUOTE ]

I resemble that remark. /images/graemlins/mad.gif


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There are people who claim (quite vigorously) they make 7 BB/hour playing 6 max. 08. I'm not sure I believe them, but the short answer is that there is a LOT of profit in 08.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have not tried 6-max games yet, but it seems to me that much of the profit from low limit O8 comes from all the dead money in the pot when anywhere from 5 to 8 players see the flop. This is more or less what I found others saying when I searched old posts on the subject. (Back in the olden days before O8 had its own forum.) In short, through my own thinking and on the advice of others, I don't see a reason to play 6-max at this time. Any other opinions on this would be appreciated.

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IMO, there has yet to be a good starting hand chart made for 08. Some claim that a good chart is not possible because there are many possible hands and hand selection can get very situational. I don't agree with this, but I think I am in the minority.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would think that a chart for O8 could get quite complicated. Here is any article that provides some good guidelines for new players. Like a chart, it is a good place to start, and then vary your play as you become more experienced. Lou Krieger (http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_magazine/archives/?a_id=14203&m_id=65543)

[Alchemist]

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There are people who claim (quite vigorously) they make 7 BB/hour playing 6 max. 08. I'm not sure I believe them, but the short answer is that there is a LOT of profit in 08.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have not tried 6-max games yet, but it seems to me that much of the profit from low limit O8 comes from all the dead money in the pot when anywhere from 5 to 8 players see the flop. This is more or less what I found others saying when I searched old posts on the subject. (Back in the olden days before O8 had its own forum.) In short, through my own thinking and on the advice of others, I don't see a reason to play 6-max at this time. Any other opinions on this would be appreciated.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly my thoughts too. I very rarely play if there are <6 opponents at the table for the reasons you cited. Not to mention the necessary adjustments that must be made in hand selection, etc. which when all taken into account can really decrease any kind of edge vs. a loose ten-handed game (for me anyway).

[BradleyT]

The same thing can be said about hold em too though, everyone would rather play with 10 loosey gooseys than 6, however those who play short-handed poker well crush those games for more than their full table counterparts - not to mention you get 40% more dealt hands per hour.

[Ray Zee]

when you play from a chart all you learn is how to play from a chart. i would suggest you learn the game from a thinking standpoint, so that you can make the right plays as that is where the real profit comes in. good luck.

[chaos]

Your first question is whether an O/8 game is harder to win at than a similar size hold'em game. Definitely not. There are still many O/8 players who are pretty clueless. They routinely play weak starting hands. After the flop with a large field they draw at hands that are not even close to the nuts.

I find that live games in the $4/8 to $15/30 range are easier to beat than similar size hold'em games. There are many loose games at these stakes. Also the variance is less.

I can't help you with the second or third question.

[dlk9s]

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There are people who claim (quite vigorously) they make 7 BB/hour playing 6 max. 08. I'm not sure I believe them, but the short answer is that there is a LOT of profit in 08.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have not tried 6-max games yet, but it seems to me that much of the profit from low limit O8 comes from all the dead money in the pot when anywhere from 5 to 8 players see the flop. This is more or less what I found others saying when I searched old posts on the subject. (Back in the olden days before O8 had its own forum.) In short, through my own thinking and on the advice of others, I don't see a reason to play 6-max at this time. Any other opinions on this would be appreciated.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly my thoughts too. I very rarely play if there are <6 opponents at the table for the reasons you cited. Not to mention the necessary adjustments that must be made in hand selection, etc. which when all taken into account can really decrease any kind of edge vs. a loose ten-handed game (for me anyway).

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. I don't like playing short-handed because when I win a hand, it's frequently only half the pot. Thus, the more people in the pot, the better. Plus, if I do get quartered, I can still sometimes pull a tiny profit on the hand if there were enough people in from the beginning.

[jayheaps]

fwiw, I average 3.8 BB/100 hands at Party's 5/10 O8.

[Perseus]

over how many hands??