jdl22
06-28-2004, 04:56 PM
I am posting this here because I am a total newb in Hi/Lo games as well as Omaha.
So I decided to try to learn a new game (or 2) and picked up Zee's High-Low-Split Poker FAP. I have read the basic strategy section of the Omaha half of the book. As it would turn out this book is designed for relatively advanced players (who knew?!?!) who say have played a hand of Omaha before. Despite the fact that I hadn't I still got something out of it. I however do have some questions about both Omaha and high low split poker in general. As for background before playing a little yesterday I had never played any Omaha, neither high only nor high low split.
1. It seems the objective is to scoop pots. That makes sense, but then why are the best hands something like A234 DS? I understand the A2 because it can make the nut low but wouldn't something like A2KK be better in terms of picking up the high and the low? It seems in Zee's description and those sites I have read with preflop advice that it is all about getting the low and hopefully getting lucky and having the nut flush.
2. Zee discusses in the beginning of the General Concepts chapter 2 types of lower limit (< 10-20) games: those where people play far too loosely particularly postflop and those where people generally know what they are doing. Obviously the first type is better. Online are most of the games of the first type? Is it basically just a game selection issue to find them? I played some 3/6 and was certainly not the worst player at the table despite having played and studied the game for about 2 total hours. It seemed people were playing super loose given what I read (hands like 35JQ were being played which seem terrible for both high and low). Is that also true at higher limits online?
3. General Hi/Lo question, is the variance reduced in these games? I would expect it to be because the suckouts will sometimes lose you half the pot and not the whole thing. I'm thinking of a situation where you have the nut flush and the nut low and unfortunately pair your deuce losing you the low but not the high. Not sure how much that will matter in terms of variance.
4. When I was thinking about branching out (I play NLHE now) I decided to do so because I figured the play would be much worse in a game like O8, the reason being that it's really easy to make a nice second best hand on the high with 4 hole cards and that people wouldn't know how to adjust to the extra wrinkle of halfing the pot for the low. Is this solid reasoning?
5. How does the edge a good player has over bad players in limit O8 compare with limit and no limit hold'em?
6. Do you have any additional comments to make?
Thanks.
So I decided to try to learn a new game (or 2) and picked up Zee's High-Low-Split Poker FAP. I have read the basic strategy section of the Omaha half of the book. As it would turn out this book is designed for relatively advanced players (who knew?!?!) who say have played a hand of Omaha before. Despite the fact that I hadn't I still got something out of it. I however do have some questions about both Omaha and high low split poker in general. As for background before playing a little yesterday I had never played any Omaha, neither high only nor high low split.
1. It seems the objective is to scoop pots. That makes sense, but then why are the best hands something like A234 DS? I understand the A2 because it can make the nut low but wouldn't something like A2KK be better in terms of picking up the high and the low? It seems in Zee's description and those sites I have read with preflop advice that it is all about getting the low and hopefully getting lucky and having the nut flush.
2. Zee discusses in the beginning of the General Concepts chapter 2 types of lower limit (< 10-20) games: those where people play far too loosely particularly postflop and those where people generally know what they are doing. Obviously the first type is better. Online are most of the games of the first type? Is it basically just a game selection issue to find them? I played some 3/6 and was certainly not the worst player at the table despite having played and studied the game for about 2 total hours. It seemed people were playing super loose given what I read (hands like 35JQ were being played which seem terrible for both high and low). Is that also true at higher limits online?
3. General Hi/Lo question, is the variance reduced in these games? I would expect it to be because the suckouts will sometimes lose you half the pot and not the whole thing. I'm thinking of a situation where you have the nut flush and the nut low and unfortunately pair your deuce losing you the low but not the high. Not sure how much that will matter in terms of variance.
4. When I was thinking about branching out (I play NLHE now) I decided to do so because I figured the play would be much worse in a game like O8, the reason being that it's really easy to make a nice second best hand on the high with 4 hole cards and that people wouldn't know how to adjust to the extra wrinkle of halfing the pot for the low. Is this solid reasoning?
5. How does the edge a good player has over bad players in limit O8 compare with limit and no limit hold'em?
6. Do you have any additional comments to make?
Thanks.