possibly the leak
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My VPIP is too low - so what hands do I add?
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Beavis - I don't know what the acronym VPIP represents. Whatever VPIP does represent, how do you know it’s too low?
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My Showdowns won when seen flops is too low.
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I’m not sure I’m interpreting what you have written correctly. Do you mean you’re not winning enough showdowns when you have seen the flop?
If so, you may be staying in the hand too often when you don't have a good enough fit with the flop.
What's a good fit with the flop?
Look at it this way: after the flop are there any cards you’d rather have than the cards in your own hand? If so, those other cards are probably a good fit with the flop. If you really like the cards in your own hand and wouldn’t want to exchange any of them for other cards of your choosing, then you probably have a good fit with the flop yourself. If you even really like one two-card combination, you probably have a decent flop fit in a loose game.
But you have to have sense, of course. If you really like the flopped middle set, you're doomed. (You might continue with flopped middle set, if you are sure you're getting good enough odds, but you shouldn't really much like continuing).
For the flop in the example that started this thread, 9s, Jd, 6d, if you could choose any four cards for your own hand, what would they be?
After a flop of 9s, Jd, 6d, I’d like to be holding the nut diamond draw, maybe as AdTd or Ad2d, and I’d like top set, maybe as JsJc or JsJh. Or a big wrap-straight draw plus the nut diamond draw would be nice.
(1) JsJcTdAd, (2) JsJhAd2d, (3) AdKsQsTd, or (4) TdQdJsJc. Any of those would be a very nice fit with this flop. Is that what you hold? Do you even hold any of the pertinent two card combinations? (JJ, AdXd, QT)?
I’ll answer for you.
No. You don’t.
You do hold the ten of diamonds, but for it to be worth much you need the ace of diamonds or at least a queen (preferably of diamonds) to go along with it. You do hold the jack of hearts, but for it to be worth much, you need another jack (preferably of spades to partly block the back-door spade draw). You don’t hold any of the two card combinations I’d choose to draw to this flop (if I could choose).
Try to play starting cards that will have two card combinations you might want to hold after the flop. A2, A3, AA, KK, AsXs, 23 are favorites of veteran Omaha-8 players. But you really like more than one of these in a hand. For example, AA23 is great and 23KK is playable. They’re both obviously better if suited and even better if double suited. A23, AA2, AsXs3 are strong three card combos that, if in a suited or double suited hand, tend to be found in premium hands. You like all of these before the flop because with them you often flop nuts that will hold up or a nice draw to nuts that will hold up.
But after this particular flop, none of those favored two-card combos works well anyhow, except the ace of diamonds suited to another diamond (ideally the deuce or ten for this flop). You’d have to devalue all of those nice starting combos after this flop and probably fold them (except for the suited ace of diamonds). It’s a moot point because you don’t have them this time anyhow. But neither do you have any combos I personally would want to play with this flop.
It’s not easy to fold the middle set of nines because you know sometimes it wins unimproved in Omaha-8 - and other times it improves to a full house or quads and wins. You’ve seen it win unimproved and you’ve seen it improve to win. Therefore it’s tough to fold it. But it wouldn’t be what you’d choose to play if you had your choice. Right? Be honest with yourself.
Bottom line: I think maybe the major leak in your game, if you have one, is your play after the flop. How do you correct it? You might try visualizing card combinations you’d like for any particular flop. Sometimes they’ll work out for you on the turn and river while other times they won’t. Ideally you’ll have more than one of them. But if you don’t have any of them after the flop, at least at a loose table, it’s time to get the Hell out of Dodge.
Just my opinion.
Buzz
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