A few questions from a newb
Hey guys. I am trying to expand my poker horizons, and read about O8 in SS2, and really find it fascinating. Limit hold em ring games have been my bread and butter, as well as some NL tourneys. I’ve done well at both, but would really like to be adept at other games, and this one appeals to me. So, I have scrolled through several pages of this forum, and found some of the post very enlightening. There are a few things I would like expounded upon though if that is cool. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I have done a little reading up on this board, and am trying not to shoot from the hip here too much and waste everyone’s time.
Just to clarify, I am asking exclusively about O8 limit, not PLO8, which I might take up later, probably when I decide to step into tournaments.
PTO – how useful is the program? I use PT for hold em and PV to keep track of my opponents, and from what I understand PV now works with PTO on Party. Anyone use PV for O8? I live by it for LHE, just wondering what you guys thought. (Yeah, I am one of “those” geeky players who love online poker b/c B&M does not have the little green, red, yellow and orange numbers floating over everyone’s heads. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img])
VPIP – in Hold em I’m a bit tight (vp ~15, four tabling). Should my preflop play include an automuck for anything without an ace in ep? Is a vpip ~20 acceptable, if I start off two tabling? This brings me to something I loath doing in LHE: cold calling. In MP, how bad it is to cold call A2xx offsuit? I want to say call, but again, totally newb here.
Aggression – I drink the standard 2+2 koolaid as far as aggression goes, but it seems that sometimes being more passive can pay off in this game, such as going for overcalls with a nut low draw. One interesting post here read “don’t push your nut lows with zero high potential.” Is this generally correct?
Variance – any poker will have swings. How does O8 variance compare to LHE? More? Less? Bankroll is not an issue for me as I will start out at .5/1 and hopefully make a little as I learn the game, though I would like an idea of what I’m getting myself into. It seems from what I read on a post here, I can actually expect smaller swings that I experienced at LHE. I guess I’m looking for confirmation of this.
Resources – what texts are recommended on this board for newer players? I’m sure there is a “standard” book for newer players, but maybe I am wrong. I’ve read the Baldwin section of SS2, and that seems helpful. (Really, I would be more comfortable with a 2+2 book, but I know that none specific to this game exists yet.) Any thoughts on where to go from there? Also, are there any sort of odds charts and hand reading exercises anyone could recommend?
Profitability – I’m going to ask the really drool question of what a “good” longterm winrate is. Intuitively I would think it would be similar to HE, but that is b/c that is my point of reference. However, is there also a chance that a good player can make more at this game than the others, precisely b/c the sheer number of factors one has to consider will confuse the hell out of recreational, weaker players? I mean, as I read on a thread here, to bad players EVERY hand can look good. Relatedly, how high in limits does this phenomenon occur?
Thanks much. That is a lot of questions I know, and I don’t expect everyone who responds to answer them all. Any thoughts on any of these topics are appreciated – just whatever jumps out at you that you feel you know best. I might ask other questions if they come to me.
[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] Greg
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