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Greg Mascio
July 18, 2005
It's a familiar refrain at the
Omaha/8 table, when the betting is
capped on the turn in a multi-way pot.
In theory, this request is about
saving time -- it's easier to divide
the chips at the end of the hand when
they're not in one monster pile at the
center of the table. But the subtext
is clear. "Give us the damn river
already!"
It's often just one pot like this
one that makes the difference at the
end of the day between winner and
loser, genius and live one. And
playing these hands correctly goes a
long way toward determining one's
success in this sometimes volatile
game.
Other than catching gin on the
river, however, how does one go about
getting out as cheaply as possible
when beat, and maximizing profit when
holding the nuts?
The first and most important thing,
especially in Omaha/8, is knowing
where you're at on every street. Many
players will simply not throw a hand
away even when they're sure they're
beat in a big pot. They call it down
just to find out what they were right
about four bets ago.
A typical hand where you can get
into trouble is flopping two pair with
a hand like A-3-6-K. The flop comes
A-3-J, with a flush draw you don't
hold. You're first to act and fire a
bet into the pot. It then gets raised,
called, called and three-bet by the
time it gets back to you. You very
well could be drawing extremely thin
at this point. If an Ace comes, it's
likely you hold the second-best full
house. If you catch a King on the
turn, your two pair might be beat by
the 10-Q-K wrap who called all those
bets on the flop. If a 6 comes, you're
still likely beat by Aces and Jacks,
and all the made lows and flush draws
are Freerolling on you.
Still, most unseasoned players call
in this spot nearly 100 percent of the
time. Why? One reason is because
average-to-below-average players
rarely ever make a bet and
subsequently fold on the same street.
I almost never see this. To be a
winning player, especially in O/8, you
have to be able to lay down your
losers.
On the other hand, say that same
A-3-J flop comes down and you hold
A-2-4-5 with the nut flush draw. Yes,
you have a monster. You're first to
act and bet, and again it gets raised
and three bet. This time you cap it.
The turn comes a deuce. Now it's time
to make extra bets.
With all the action that came
behind you on the flop, you can be
almost certain someone will bet if you
check. You check, which puts the
thought into the other player's mind
that you may have been counterfeited,
or at best are holding a set. After a
bet and a few calls, now you are in
position to make that check raise --
and you might not even lose some of
the people drawing dead! Excuse No. 1
why a losing player calls when drawing
dead? "The pot is too big."
If you had bet out on the turn when
the deuce hit after capping it on the
flop, any above-average player would
most likely put you on your hand and
you won't get any action. That same
player may still call your
check-raise, perhaps hoping to fill up
on the end, but at least he will have
to pay to get there.
There are a lot of large multi-way
pots in O/8. It's easy to be tempted
by the amount of money in the center
of the table. But, like in most forms
of poker, a hand that is usually
strong heads-up or three handed simply
doesn't carry the same weight in a
multi-way pot against multiple draws.
And in O/8, you might have to fend off
five or six players, each holding four
cards in their hand. It's just flat
tough to make two pair on the flop
hold up in that case.
Omaha-Eight-or-Better is all about
holding the nuts or at least drawing
to them. Its one reason why A-2 with
two blanks -- like say 8-10 -- is such
a dangerous hand. It gets played
pre-flop almost every time, yet it
rarely gets more than half the pot,
and costs too much when the low that
doesn't get there.
Hands that work together for both
high and low, like A-2-Q-K or A-2-4-K
(I'll take mine double suited, thanks)
are key. "Nut-Nut" is a
beautiful thing, especially at the end
of a monster pot where the dealer has
to do nothing with all those chips in
front of everybody but push them to
you.
Greg Mascio
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