The 2+2 Forums Older Archives: Rolf's CP Column and Starting Hand Requirements

In the current issue of CP, Rolf continues a 2 part series on starting hands in omaha, and gives advice on how to play them with various stack sizes. This judging your starting requirements by not just position and the table dynamics, but also by your stack size is very important.

But I am going to surprise many of you with some comments that are even tighter than Rolf. The hand he discusses, 9876 rainbow, and those like it, is a hand I routinely fold unless on the button or completing the small blind in an unraised pot. Same for AKJT rainbow (but I would open raise with this in late position). Now I know this seems incredibly tight, but I have played like this since I started playing plo years ago. And I even seem to recall in Rolf's columns in years past his playing the same way, though perhaps I am mistaken.

The reason I don't like those rainbow hands is that even when you flop a straight draw, there will often be another player drawing to make the same hand, and a flush draw which you also have or pick up on the turn when you hit a straight can give you a freeroll.

And when you don't flop a straight draw, you often can flop top 2 pair, but if you get raised with that top 2 you are either against a draw or the same hand or a set. And again, being able to hit a flush draw with that top 2 is often what will allow you to consider calling or even reraising when you get raised with such a hand, because if you are up against a set, however improbably it might seem with your holding top 2, then all you will have left usually is an 8 out straight draw. But add a flush draw to that and you can play the pot with more confidence when you add up the possibilities that you are actually currently ahead plus your drawing equity.

I know that many of you will especially have a problem with this reasoning regarding the rainbow broadway hand I mentioned. But players in plo are more prone to indiscriminately play 2 or 3 broadway cards with junk or junky JJ/QQ/KK than anything else. So this can get you into a lot of difficult situations that could be avoided by folding those hands which will offer you no flushing possibilities to go with pairs and straight draws which might only be splitting. Except in raised pots with one player marked with AA which he won't fold and another player marked with a draw, top 2 often just is a splitting or losing hand which is why I want some straight and/or flush draw to go with it before I commit my stack on such a hand on the flop if I get raised, unless I am convinced I am only against a draw and am headsup.

Again, I know this might seem exceptionally tight, and although I do make exceptions, this is one of my usual ways to evaluate a starting hand.