Rolf's CP Column and Starting Hand Requirements

[BluffTHIS!]

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.

Wow, that's pretty tight. I think starting hand selection must vary depending upon the game. In most low limit games ($25 and $50), which is what I usually play, there is little pre-flop raising, or occasional min-raises. I'm rarely going to lay down any 4 connecting cards 5 or higher before the flop for 25 cents up to $1 or so regardless of position. I'll routinely play 6789 rainbow or 5667 suited for one bet or a min-raise in early position. Granted, you have to know when to fold on a trouble flop. I think the key to playing a variety of hands, especially out of position, is knowing the likelihood of a raise behind you and having confidence in your ability to fold to serious action before or after the flop.

To some extent I call too often with ordinary drawing hands out of position pre-flop, and it's a leak I know needs fixing. That being said, at low levels I think you're giving up way too much by not playing many of those hands for a single bet to see the flop.

[joewatch]

I think hands like 9876, 6543r are fine to limp in at low limits (PL$100 or lower) when the table is weak-passive. But at higher limits, these are -EV since most pots are being raised preflop. Most of the time, you are flopping a wrap draw and you can't continue if there is a board 2-flush.

The strange thing is that I think Rolf's articles depart somewhat from his regular playing style, since he normally plays shortstacked. I think the advice that he has given in the past, which basically amounts to only playing hands that you can raise with or that are strong enough to call a raise with. 9876r doesn't qualify.

One final comment - since cardplayer magazine is probably the most widely read poker magazine, but relatively few people play PLO, I wish Rolf would focus his writing on the post-flop play, which is much more interesting and exciting than preflop hand selection. We need something other than the 2 broadcasts of the WSOP to help attract new players to the game.

I definitely noticed a spike in the number of games running after they showed Phil Ivey won the PLO bracelet 2 months ago, but it seems that a lot of the action has dried up. Even Dave D says that the PLO games aren't very good now; hence his switch to LHE!

[punter11235]

Hey BluffTHIS!

I agree with your assessment about rainbow str8 hands. I used to muck them too. I dont know what you mean by naked KK/QQ comment but I think that playing these can be very profitable in online PLO.

[BluffTHIS!]

punter, that was the subject of a lengthy thread last month regarding such a QQ hand, and also of Rolf's article previous to the one I am talking about here, that is, in the last isssue of CP.

Link to thread.

AKJTr is a hand that can get you in a lot of trouble because it plays well in small pots and poorly in big pots. I think we can all agree that broadway cards are far more likely to be in play after the flop. This means that when such a hand hits the flop, it also hits your opponents more often than not. Omaha is to a large part a game of straights, flushes, and boats. Roughly 40% of all unpaired final boards will have at least 3 of a suit. This seriously erodes the value of this hand.

This hand is the equivalent I'd say of something like KJo in HE. It has real strength, but it's dangerous.

[punter11235]

Thanks for the link BluffTHIS. I came back to PLO only several weeks ago and I am not up to date with material [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Thanks [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Filip]

[ QUOTE ]
I definitely noticed a spike in the number of games running after they showed Phil Ivey won the PLO bracelet 2 months ago, but it seems that a lot of the action has dried up. Even Dave D says that the PLO games aren't very good now; hence his switch to LHE!

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh happy days, 40 buyinns up during those months. Now i am strongly thinking of switching to NLHE. The pond is feeling damn dry atm.

[beset7]

I am in the middle of a prop bet with the rempel that I can play 30k hands of NLHE without playing any other games. I'm halfway thru and I'm dying to play some Omaha. But, really, the game selection is so much better at NLHE. Kind of sucks.

Though right before this prop bet started I played in some spectacular 1/2 and 2/4 6max games on party. I guess it's just a matter of luck (i.e. when preparation meets opportunity).

[joewatch]

I just started playing NLHE after getting a nice bonus offer from one of the smaller sites where I used to play regularly. Compared to PLO, NLHE is ridiculously soft.