big O8 downswing

[BadBatsuMaru]

I was doing really well at O8 for a few weeks. I was up 400BB, which I'm sure isn't normal, but now I'm down 140BB in the past week.

I don't know that I'm playing that badly. My party stats have me seeing about 22% of the flops over several thousand hands, but I've only won 3%.

I'm only playing ring games, 0.5/1 tables with an average pot over $10 and the occasional 2/4 table with an average pot over $40. I usually leave if there aren't 5 people seeing most flops (although Party O8 does seem to have become pretty sharky lately).

My starting conditions are currently:
A-2-x-x
A-A-x-x
A-3-4-x
A-3-K-K
high hands all between T-A (except trips)
9-T-J-Q
2-3-4-x

I also play almost any A-3-x-x when the A is suited, and almost any high hand 9-A when the A is suited. I mostly only raise ABC, A2 suited and AA double-suited hands in late position and the blinds. I fold all trips except AAA2 and A222 in the SB, and I fold any hand with a single low card (i.e. can't make any low and doesn't have 4 high).

I was really tearing it up for a couple weeks, and now I seriously have lost money every session for the past several days.

I'd like to post some hands, but Bison's converter doesn't work for me. It only works in HE hands. When I try to convert an O8 hand it leaves out almost all the details.

For example:

Party Poker (8 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is CO with 2[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, BB checks.

Flop: A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(6 players)</font>
SB checks, SB folds.

Turn: J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(5 players)</font>
MP1 folds.

River: Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(4 players)</font>
BB checks, MP2 folds.

Final Pot:


That's what I get from this:



***** Hand History for Game 1561100190 *****
$0.5/$1 Omaha Hi/Lo - Tuesday, February 08, 19:18:36 EDT 2005
Table Table 27458 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: BBenjammin ( $63.45 )
Seat 2: BadBatsuMaru ( $40 )
Seat 3: Lumberjack79 ( $27.93 )
Seat 6: king378 ( $7 )
Seat 8: ixion ( $35.37 )
Seat 9: Three_Tens ( $42.67 )
Seat 10: battag22 ( $27.33 )
Seat 7: denden44 ( $11 )
Seat 4: JJFIII ( $10 )
Seat 5: sas1123 ( $25 )
king378 posts small blind [$0.25].
denden44 posts big blind [$0.5].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to BadBatsuMaru [ 2c 3s Qh Ac ]
ixion folds.
Three_Tens calls [$0.5].
battag22 calls [$0.5].
BBenjammin calls [$0.5].
BadBatsuMaru calls [$0.5].
Lumberjack79 folds.
king378 calls [$0.25].
denden44 checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Ad, Qd, 7c ]
king378 checks.
denden44 bets [$0.5].
Three_Tens calls [$0.5].
battag22 calls [$0.5].
BBenjammin calls [$0.5].
BadBatsuMaru calls [$0.5].
king378 folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Jd ]
denden44 bets [$1].
Three_Tens calls [$1].
battag22 folds.
BBenjammin calls [$1].
BadBatsuMaru calls [$1].
** Dealing River ** [ Qs ]
denden44 checks.
Three_Tens bets [$1].
BBenjammin folds.
BadBatsuMaru raises [$2].
denden44 calls [$2].
Three_Tens raises [$2].
BadBatsuMaru raises [$2].
denden44 calls [$2].
Three_Tens calls [$1].
BadBatsuMaru shows [ 2c, 3s, Qh, Ac ] a full house, Queens full of aces.
denden44 doesn't show [ 3h, 8d, 9d, 7d ] a flush, ace high.
Three_Tens shows [ Ks, 9s, Td, Kd ] Royal Flush.
Three_Tens wins $20.5 from the main pot with Royal Flush.
There was no qualifying low hand.




I've PM'd Bison but no response.

[BadBatsuMaru]

I was looking at Krieger's starting conditions, and I would think the best hands to play in loose O8 are somewhere between Hellmuth's really tight starting hands and Krieger's starting hands.

I really don't like the whole "A and any 2 prime cards" advice, because A-4-5 looks like a pretty bad hand to me. If there are several players to the flop, you pretty much need to flop a 2 and a 3 to make that hand playable, and then you still don't have the high unless you catch something. I'd play something like A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], but probably not many other A-4-5-x hands.

Is it too loose to be playing any hand with AA in it? I know this would have value in a tight O8 game, but in a loose ring game should I be playing hands like A-A-6-9 of mixed suits?

[Yads]

You're way too passive with that hand. Raise PF, raise the flop.

[djr]

I agree with the A with 2 wheel being a bit too loose, even in late position. But add anything to it (like suiting the ace) and I would limp in late position in a general loose game. Generally though, dump the A45x hands. A good rule of thumb is don't play any 3wheel hands that needs more than one card to make it a nut low draw (e.g. A34x, 234x, 235x are good, A45x, 245x, 345x are almost worthless outside the blinds). You might limp them on the button, but tred carefully if you do. And fold if you don't spike the low card on the flop...don't chase after it.

As for AAxx hands. If the ace ain't suited (or otherwise enhanced beyond the AA value), dump it in the loose low limit games. Raising just won't limit the field that much. Again this can be limped on the button and is an ok SB completing hand, but otherwise don't bother.

[BadBatsuMaru]

No help on the converter?

[Yads]

[ QUOTE ]
No help on the converter?

[/ QUOTE ]

We aren't the ones that wrote it, so no.

[Yads]

[ QUOTE ]
I agree with the A with 2 wheel being a bit too loose, even in late position. But add anything to it (like suiting the ace) and I would limp in late position in a general loose game. Generally though, dump the A45x hands. A good rule of thumb is don't play any 3wheel hands that needs more than one card to make it a nut low draw (e.g. A34x, 234x, 235x are good, A45x, 245x, 345x are almost worthless outside the blinds). You might limp them on the button, but tred carefully if you do. And fold if you don't spike the low card on the flop...don't chase after it.


[/ QUOTE ]

You guys are way too tight, A34 and A35 hands are good hands especially if it's suited to the ace. A3 doesn't always need the 2 in order to be the best low.

[BradleyT]

Just a bad downswing - it happens. It's frustrating when you're at a table playing only premium starting hands and every flop misses you when some donkey is there playing every hand till the river and winning pot after pot.

Just give it time for the numbers to even themselves out.

[bigredlemon]

Just type it in yourself... its still a lot easier than what we have to do for stud hands. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

[BadBatsuMaru]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
No help on the converter?

[/ QUOTE ]

We aren't the ones that wrote it, so no.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm. I can appreciate a smartass comment as much as the next guy, but the simple fact is that plenty people have been posting O8 hands and the converter seems to work just fine for them, so I thought maybe someone would know what was going on when I try to convert hands.