River Play With Strong, But Not Nut Hands

[ThePortuguee]

I have a general question about River Play in PLO. I play online on Party, usually short handed (6 MAX) games, and I am constantly finding myself check-raised on the river.

While the vast majority of my poker experience comes from Hold ´em, it still seems as if fundamental principles make a c-r on the river with a very strong to nut-level hand is a bad idea. With this mentality in mind I´ve made value bets with hands like the second straight, a low flush, or the nut flush when the board has paired. While I understand that in general this is not a good idea, I feel as if I´m leaving money on the table by checking behind here, when hands like sets, smaller straights and smaller flushes are going to often call .5 pot sized bets or so.

What´s suprising me, though, is how often I´m getting c-raised by hands like top boat, the nut straight, nut flushes, etc. I´ve fired pot with a K-high flush on the end after it checked around and been baffled to be set all in by the BB with an A-high flush.

Are the players who are doing this to me making solid plays, reading my general aggression, and making positive EV decisions to check-raise when a bet might scare off smaller hands? Is there enough value in enducing bluffs or enducing lesser hands to value bet to make a check with the nuts on the river? To me it seems ridiculous to draw to a hand taht youre going to fail to value bet on the river, but my real question is whether I shoudl just start checking behind hands like second straight or smaller flushes on the river here--that is, whether Im being played by superior players--or if Im playing fine and just being c-raised by idiots who dont know what theyre doing.

[ipp147]

Hi,

Much of it depends on the action in the hand. Maybe you could post an example of a couple.

It seems like you are paying off your opponents though. Maybe this is being noticed so more opponents are attempting it. I know that the player pool is quite small in these games.

[beset7]

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It seems like you are paying off your opponents though. Maybe this is being noticed so more opponents are attempting it. I know that the player pool is quite small in these games.

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[ThePortuguee]

Ok but does this mean you see yourselves check-raising on the river as a major tool you use in PLO? Is this something I should think about more often? I just cant see justifying any but the most powerful draws if you dont intend to value bet them when they hit.

Omaha is a game of the nuts, most people know this above the $25 level. If you don't have the nuts and its checked around to you, what does a value bet accomplish? Do you think someone with worse than what you have, which isnt even the nuts, is going to call?

Also, the vast majority of the time, when you are check-pot-raised on the river, that raiser holds the nuts

[ipp147]

[ QUOTE ]
Ok but does this mean you see yourselves check-raising on the river as a major tool you use in PLO? Is this something I should think about more often? I just cant see justifying any but the most powerful draws if you dont intend to value bet them when they hit.

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Check raising on the river is something I do rarely but I am constantly looking at this game from other angles to see where I can incorporate something new.

There is a difference between trying to check raise a hit draw on the river which you are implying and check raising something like top set when someone has been calling you down.

At every level I have moved up within Omaha there are less people that I happy to pay off my top boat when I pot every street therefore I have to look at other ways to get money in the middle.

At the $200 level a big part of that has been raising with a good variety of hands and using position alot more rather than simply nut peddling.

So in answer to your question, no, I don't see it as a major tool but it is something you should be thinking about. The fact that you have recognised it and posted on here about it is a good sign.