Posts from May 2009
May
31
My cards were very good for Omaha Hi – suited K-Q and a pair of Sevens. Flop was promising, but two pair is not enough if you want to win in Omaha Hi. Turn was good too, because now I have three of a kind, Sevens. I was hoping for something better than a Seven, but this is still better then two pair. River card was almost exactly what I was waiting for. I had a full house, Queens full of Kings. My opponent could beat me only if he was holding two Kings, in which I really don’t believe.
The moment of truth was approaching, who will stay and who will be out from this Omaha Hi Pot Limit poker game, since we were raising and re-raising all the time. Split pot? Why?? Hate when something like that happens.
Split Pot in Omaha Hi… Hate That
May
30
Last week we were writing mostly about when you should fold your hand, no matter how sorry that makes you, and a lot more:
Keep reading, there is more to come!
May
30
Poker is not a game that turns on how well you play; it turns on how well you play compared to your opponent.
Lou Krieger
Basically, everything you know, or at least you think you know about Poker, is nothing if your opponents know more, or have greater experience. Or, better cards of course.
May
29
Here is a good example of the fact that Omaha poker starts after the flop. If you look at my hole cards, you’ll see that I had a pair of Jacks and pretty good suited cards. Since I followed my opponent’s play for a while I knew that this guy loves aggressive play, so I just called his pot-raise pre-flop. As you can see, I had a Full House and I was pretty convinced that I am holding nuts for this hand.
However, I didn’t raise till the river – calling his pot-raises was pretty enough to keep him going, since I knew that he wouldn’t fold on my re-raise. But, after the river it was a different story. I re-raised and he was already so deep in the hand that he simply wanted to see my cards. And he did, so I collected a huge pot. Three of a kind is not a hand you should force with bets in Omaha Hi Pot Limit poker game.
Silence is Golden
May
28
Before I start, I know what you’ll say at the end - That happened already. You’re absolutely right. But, it keeps happening and I keep wondering - why is something that’s so simple and easy to learn so hard to understand and do?
Take a look at the image below and see for yourself. In this Omaha Hi Pot Limit poker game I had double suited hand, but a pretty week one. No connecting cards, except A-3, and a long shot A-10 in different suits. To be honest, I would recommend discarding this hand.
However, I called, and no one raised (which would force me to fold), so I was able to limp in and see the flop. It’s pretty straight-forward from there. I had 2 pairs, close to nothing, and I just called. My “strong” opponent raised a minimum, and I called. Turn card brought me another pair, so I now had 3 pairs, but unfortunately, that doesn’t count in Omaha. Encouraged by the lack of hearts on the turn, I called a half-pot raise. On the river I hit the boat, and that was pretty cool, but I would never call it a lucky river - I worked hard to see that river.
I was stunned however, with the pot-raise of my opponent. Here’s my line of thoughts - WTF? If he had a pocket Pair of Tens , Fives or Nines from the start he could beat my hand, but than he wasn’t raising enough - so I eliminated that possibility. If he was hunting a flush, he missed it. Even if he has a strong over-pair, my hand is stronger. He can’t possibly have Four of a kind, since there are only 4 Threes in the deck. So, NO WAY my friend! I am NOT folding this hand. I re-raised a maximum possible amount, he called my bet - and lost.
Why on Earth would you call a re-raise on the river knowing that you have two pairs? That’s not bluffing, that’s giving your chips away. Almost a donation. If you are generous person, give some money to charity. Not only will you help someone - you’ll feel better about yourself.
It’s Omaha! Just Fold That "Powerful” hand!
May
27
Since this was Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit poker game, I was more than happy with my hole cards (3h-Ah-Qh-10h). After the flop, I’ve hoped for more good cards to follow. Turn card was just perfect, I’ve got a full house, Queens full of Threes, it was sooo worth of some extra betting. But, when a Jack showed up, suddenly a total madness come up… my opponents obviously had something, and they had something good.
I was quite surprised when the chips ran towards my opponent. Now I can understand what was that all about. Full house, Queens full of Jacks, that hurts… a lot!!
Lucky River... but... Not for Me
May
26
Since the rainbow was in my hole cards I had second thoughts, but called this hand after all. Well, why not? Who knows what pair of Aces could bring me. When I saw one more Ace on the flop I thought that just a little bit of aggression can do no harm, so I raised. Whoohooo - another Ace! Very, very good. Only thing I needed was somebody that will follow my next bet. I couldn’t be more happy when flush draw appeared on the river, since my opponent, flush hunter, re-raised my bet. He was thinking that nothing could beat his flush, Ace high. But… hehehe… my beloved four of a kind, Aces, brought me a hole pot in this Omaha Hi Pot Limit poker hand.
Do you remember that old Bugs Bunny cartoon when he was playing poker? When I saw my Quads, it felt exactly the same. Unfortunately, I couldn’t repeat Bugs Bunny’s sentence live.
I’ve Got Pair of Aces... and Another Pair of Aces
May
25
I had so much fun today at Full Tilt Poker tables. Great hole cards kept coming, which is a total opposite of my regular routine. In this Omaha Hi Pot Limit Poker hand, for example, my hole cards were A-10 suited, another Ace and a Queen. With no reason to keep it cool, I raised a pot before the flop, which turned away couple of players, but the rest of them were absolutely stubborn to see at least a turn card.
Flop, on the other hand, was pretty bad for me. There was a potential flush (in wrong color from my perspective), but K-J is something I can be counted for. If flush doesn’t come out, I am pretty cool with the pair of Aces. I decided to push towards the river, except if another spade comes to the table. If somebody is holding pocket Kings or Jacks, I’ll lose, but that’s the risk you need to take sometimes. Since I was on the button, I could wait to see how strong my opponents are by watching the bets before the turn. One of the players raised half pot and both of us called that bet. I was convinced that neither of these two players has a pocket Kings or Jacks, because they would raise much stronger on the flop. Since this is Omaha Poker, and you never know what’s there for you on the turn or the river, You simply need to raise seriously with 3 of a kind on the flop, to force lots of hands to fold.
Turn card was close to nothing for everyone, except me. I didn’t care for that card, but it cut the hopes in half for flush draw, which was more then good. We had another half-pot raise from the guy on my left, and the 3rd opponent folded - I guess he decided that flush is too far away.
And then came the river card - her Majesty the Queen! I had nuts straight, Ace high. My opponent raised half the pot and I was all in, couple of seconds later. Yes, I was being a bit dramatic. He called my re-raise of course, and all the chips came to my pocket.
What I want to point out is that I was pretty surprised seeing his hand. He had no flush draw at all - he had a straight too, but King high. He was hoping for a Queen on the river, but ended on the bad side of the straight.
My Straight is Stronger than Yours
May
24
This hand was just one of many similar I played in this Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit poker tournament. My hole cards (Ah-10h-5d-2d) were good for both parts of the pot – double suited for a high and A-2-5 for a low hand. After the flop it was obvious that my only chance is to fight for a low, which I did - just like the opponent on my left. But, my opponent’s cards were very bad for low, since he had 2-3-5 and flop already contained a Three, so he had just 2-5 on his side. In this particular situation where community cards weren’t good for him anymore, since somebody could have 1-2, 1-4, 1-5 or even 2-4, he needed to fold this hand instantly! He, however, continued with calling each and every bet till the end which cost him significant amount of chips.
When you go for a low hand in Omaha Poker you should be aware of your hole cards, community cards and most importantly – be aware of what your opponents hold in their hands. Specially since lots of players are chasing low hand every time. I learn that hard way by losing lots of chips and by losing very good tournament positions.
Learn to Fold a Bad Low Hand
May
23
Here is what was cooking on the Omaha Poker Tables last week.
Keep reading, there is more to come!
