Leaks...

[toots]

I wonder if I'm going to go through this with every flavor of poker.

I mean, I spent a whole lot of time with Hold 'Em learning the importance of playing aggressively. Then I move into Omaha, and get real passive.

Ok, if I've got the absolute nuts, playing passive isn't such a bad idea as long as someone's getting the bets in for me. I mean, I like hauling down those huge pots with 6-7 callers to the turn.

So, I've been betting and calling, but not so much raising or reraising unless I have the nut hand made already.

Which I suppose works fine as long as I'm at super loose tables with tons of callers, but it's also kinda boring. So, I've quit looking for the super-loose tables, and you know what? Aggression is my friend again.

Certainly, it can be wasted on drawing hands when everyone's just going to call everything anyway. But, when I find these wonderfully weak-tight tables - people playing like I've been playing, it's amazingly easy to push them around.

In other words, I've been chasing poor hands when I should have been folding them, and folding mediocre hands when I should be raising them. Stick me in a tub of soapy water, and listen to the fizzing.

I guess that's still another example of the importance of adjusting your play to the other players. I may not get big pots raising away at weak-tights to get them heads up, but I'm getting a pretty good win rate.

Or maybe I'm just getting lucky.

Still, seems like a good time to re-evaluate my playing style.

[gergery]

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So, I've been betting and calling, but not so much raising or reraising unless I have the nut hand made already.

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I think you should bet and raise when you have more equity in the pot than those calling you have. I don’t think the concept of made hand vs. drawing hand is a particularly helpful way of thinking about things in Omaha. There are no prizes for who has the best hand after the flop. If you have more equity, get more money in, if you don’t, keep things cheap. Then let time work its magic.

[ QUOTE ]
Which I suppose works fine as long as I'm at super loose tables with tons of callers, but it's also kinda boring. So, I've quit looking for the super-loose tables, and you know what? Aggression is my friend again.

Certainly, it can be wasted on drawing hands when everyone's just going to call everything anyway. But, when I find these wonderfully weak-tight tables - people playing like I've been playing, it's amazingly easy to push them around.

[/ QUOTE ]

They can both be profitable to your bankroll.

Loose tables mean you need the best hand at showdown. If you start with better hands and jam the pot when you have good equity, you will be a long-term winner, but will have higher variance, and will endure some bad beats in big pots, which hurt emotionally, while when you win since you are a better player you are ‘supposed’ to win.

Tight tables mean smaller pots but you’ll win more frequently and will win some pots with the worst hand, which feels good emotionally, because you are ‘supposed’ to lose.

The players will generally be better at the tigher tables, so your overall winrate should be less there (unless they really fold way too much). But the higher variance means it can be hard to see this in the numbers. Watch out that you don’t “pay too much” for feeling good at the tables tho.

--Greg