Hi Lo Omaha? Not for me

[peterbirks]

For reasons that I won't go into in too great a detail, I played three tables of Omaha Hi-Lo 25c-50c for an hour. well, bascially, it was because Mike said that this was how he cleared off his bonus. Not sure how. I played for an hour and managed to accumulated a grand total of 10 (ten) points. AT that rate I would have to three-table for 60 hours to work off the bonus. I don't think so.

And I think I lost $20 as well. I was playing fairly tightly, but I suspect that I just don't really get the game. I know the theory (so, please, no explanations, I won't miss the game at all) and I even have a feel for when it is right to call and when it is right to jam (apparently the thing that most players find the hardest to get the hang of). Where I go wrong is in not having a winning hand (let alone a scooping hand) at the end. While other people were walking away with half the pots with, as far as I could see, total crap, I was getting royally stuffed both ways with the second nuts in either direction. Or I would have a massive draw to the nuts in BOTH directions, with five players still in, and I would miss both ways. Probably a bit of bad luck. Anyway, having decided that it "wasn't for me" it took me precisel;y one hand to win it back at the $5-$10 (and it was a bluff!)

Although I know that it is a cardinal sin, I'm doing a bit of hitting and running at the $5-$10. Although this is not good long-term strategy, it's a very good way to rebuild battered confidence. A $40 here and a $30 there, and, so long as you don't hit the inevitable occasional stinker too soon, you soon get quite a bit of money back and, more importantly, some confidence in your play.

Comments

Wrong site?

[jellymillion.livejournal.com]

I'm not suggesting that the O8 strategy works everywhere or for everyone. And it wasn't an original idea - someone very kindly steered me that way.

You were playing pot-limit, weren't you?

I find it hard to believe that less than 80% of pots were being raked. After that it's down the the site's definition of "raked" or "points". At Party, it works beautifully because even at the $25 buyin (10-25c blinds) 50% of the punters see the pot so there's almost always a 5c rake, which is enough. I think I saw 900 hands for 700 raked. Assuming a full table, that's 90 orbits, which at 35c each is about $70 for post-and-fold for 5-6 hours of four-tabling. If you play about the top 15-18% of hands and fold post-flop to anything more than a min bet without a a draw to the nuts I reckon you can clear about $5-10 an hour per table on top.

Does it work as well away from Party & skins? I'd suggest not. I racked up about 100 hands of $0.25-0.50 at Stars this afternoon for about 30 FPPS (and $55 profit), at Full Tilt the bonus accrues slowly (but the games are beatable at low limits) and at VC it's frankly not worth the effort on my admittedly small sample because the bonus unwinds at a snail's pace and because by the time I've cashed it I'll have lost more than the bonus anyway. I can't get VC figured out at all - I only reloaded for the 30% bonus they offered me to return and I'm wishin I hadn't bothered. I'll have a look at the NLHE tables before I give up though: if my game hasn't improved enough in 5 months to perform better then I'll find a better use for the money.

I would dearl love to get better at identifying the correct times to raise. I suspect that, in part at least because of the simplicity of the game, it's mostly situational: players, position, current nuts, draws and redraw possibilities. I seem to be getting better at making the won pots large and the lost ones small, I just can't say why, yet.

Re: Wrong site?

[peterbirks.livejournal.com]

Ahh, Pot Limit High-Low. That explains it. No, I was playing the (more standard, for me) limit high-low. Pot Limit high only, limit high-low.

I suspect that pot limit high low for me would be a VERY different game. I'm gaga enough at PLO. Add some high-low into the mix and I would be getting people all-in nearly every hand (and probably rebuying every other hand :-) )

Popped into Ultimate for some PLO for half an hour and won $23. Not a lot, I know. But all adding to small build backs. $95 today, here and there. I rememebr when that used to be a big win. Sigh.

The PLO was actually laughable. I picked up A998 double-suited and half thought about raising after six people limped. But I wimped it. When the flop came 955 (two hearts) I rather regretted the fact. However, by canny underbetting the pot, I got the other sizeable stack to come with me for $5 on the flop and, after a third heart appeared, for $8 on the turn. The nine on the river actually made things look worse for my hand (even though I now had quads), as, with a board of 9955Q (three hearts) it reduced the number of cards I could hold to beat a flush. I bet $10 into a $30 pot and the flush duly called. Ker-ching!

Re: Wrong site?

[jellymillion.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, got to be pot limit. And loose enough to get 5 or 6 in most pots. And on a site where you get credit for being dealt cards, not one of those awful jobs where you get credit in proportion to your rake contribution.

$95 still counts as a good day for me. $325 for the first week of May is thoroughly satisfactory, made nicer by Pam being in profit (although I still play the death throes of some S&Gs for her). Interestingly, she's running better in $20 games, possibly because there are (slightly) fewer dumb plays made that pay off/suck out at that level.

[(Anonymous)]

Its certainly a lot easier to play low limit or low ante PLO8 on Party skins than say Pokerstars or UB. At limit I 4 table Party skins and basically its very much an automatic game ($0.50/$1.00 limit O8)for getting a bonus quickly and cheaply. At PLO8 there nearly 85% of pots are raked so the points drop away. PokerStars is a different kettle of fish though.

[(Anonymous)]

That was by me btw

redsimon

[jellymillion.livejournal.com]

Even the $25 tables rake at a little under 80% (78% in my experiment with the last reload) which suits me fine as a novice PLO8 player. $140 total for 5 hours of mostly peaceful post-and-fold is fine.

I'm less bothered about Stars because the bonus doesn't lapse: I can sit in when I recognise (or think I do) a decent game, go elsewhere otherwise. Despite the low volumes in UK-friendly hours, I've managed to unearth a few good tables (NLHE and PLO8) at Full Tilt the past week. Slow bonus accrual, but I've been winning anyway and with 4 months to clear it and dispersals in $20 increments, again it's looking like one to add to the circuit for dropping in to when things look good.