PLO-8

About six weeks ago, I was at the Atlantis on a Saturday night, and I played in a $1/$2 PLO game that they were trying to establish. Last night was my first visit to the Atlantis on a Saturday night since then. Not only was there a PLO game, it had evolved in to a $1/$2 PLO-8 game. Even though I went there to play $3/$5 NL, I decided to sit down in the PLO-8 game.

I've played a lot of Limit O-8, but I've never played PLO-8. The good thing about being a Mixed Games player is that some basic concepts translate from one game to another. In Big Bet games, you have Position, Isolating, and Value Betting. In Split Pot games, you have Scooping, Quartering, and Freerolling for Half the Pot.

One of most important concepts in PLO-8 is Quartering. For all of you "TV Poker" players, Quartering is when you only win 1/4 of the Pot rather than 1/2 of the pot. The most common example is when one player has a High hand that get 1/2 of the pot, and two players have the Nut Low (usually A2) which gets 1/2 of 1/2 of the Pot, or 1/4 of the pot. In Limit, it's not terrible to get Quartered. There is usually enough Dead Money in the pot from all of the limpers, and players who called on the Flop, to keep you from losing money by getting only 1/4 the pot. But in PLO-8, you could get your entire stack in the pot, and lose half of it by getting Quartered by someone who win the High and 1/2 the Low. One way to prevent getting Quartered in a big pot is to have some "Ands" in your hand. (Something like an Overpair AND a Flush Draw AND a Nut Low Wrap) The more of your stack that gets in the pot, the more "Ands" you should have.

Anyways, the play at my table was, well... interesting. There were a couple of players who knew what they were doing. But most of the players were TV Poker players who were trying something different, and enjoying the big pots and action. One lady had a Starting Hands Chart propped up against her chip stack. There was an older couple who are regulars in the $4/$8 O-8 game at the Peppermill. The husband is a Super Nit, but wife is a Calling Station.

There was a lot of limping preflop, with up to seven or eight players in many pots. Even when someone raised, there was still 4-6 players who called. Nobody was betting their draws, but they would call almost anything for a draw that was for just 1/2 the pot. And often on the River, they would just check a hand to get to Showdown, even though they really should have made a value bet.

So with all this Dead Money at the table, that means I had an awesome session, right?

Nope. I ended up losing $600, two buy-ins. The main reason for this was because I tried to bluff players who had no clue what they were doing, which was an incredibly stupid thing to do. You don't beat No0bs by bluffing them, and trying to muscle them out of a pot. You beat them by using Fundamentals, and playing smarter then they do. Hopefully, I'll play smarter next time I'm in that game.

Here are two hand from the session:

Hand #1: Some players limp in. I'm the Button with Ax Qx Th 4h, and raise to $5. Four players see a Flop of Js 9h 5s. All check to me. All I have is an Open Ender and some backdoor draws, but I still make a bet of $20. Only the SB and the UTG+1 call. The SB is an aggressive Kid who knows what he's doing. UTG+1 is an older gentleman who's a regular in the poker room, but very new to PLO-8.

Turn: [Js 9h 5s] 7c. They both check. Well, I now have a Low Draw, but I'm not counting on my A4 Low to be any good. I fire the second bullet, $50. They both call.

River: [Js 9h 5s 7c] 4d. They both check to me. Obviously, my Pair of 4 and no Low won't win the Pot, so I "empty the clip" for $100. The SB quickly ejects, but the UTG+1 calls almost as quickly. He has AJ92 for Top Two Pair and the Nut Low, which is a very strong hand. I can't believe he just checked & called with it, especially when he hit the Low on the River. If he had even flinched towards his chips on the River, I would have saved $100.

Of course, it may have been a mistake by me to try a bluff against two players in a Split Pot game. Someone is likely to have something, even if it's for half the pot. That's a situation where some experience would have been helpful.

Hand #2: Someone raises to $5. A couple of players call, including me in the BB with 9c 5c 3x 2x. Not exactly premium holdings, but I am already in for $2.

Five players see a Flop of Ks 4s 4d. Since I airballed this Flop, I check. UTG bet $10. He is a 50's gentleman who just got to our table, and already has "Dead Money" stamped on his forehead. He has played every hand and played them horribly bad. In a previous hand, I raised preflop to $5. He 3-Bet to $10 with Th Ts 8h 8s. Surprisingly, he didn't win the pot.

Anyways, two players call the $10 bet, and it gets back to me. UTG's bet is very weak, like he hit Top Pair (K). The two callers are also weak, like they have a Flush Draw or just a Pair. I decide to check-raise POT ($70), and take down all this weak money. UTG calls the extra $60, but everyone else folds.

Turn: [Ks 4s 4d] 9h. Well, I have a Pair now, which means I have some outs. I bet $100, representing at least a 4. UTG called rather quickly.

River: [Ks 4s 4d 9h] 2c. Once again, I can't win this pot without betting, so I bet everything I have left, $154. UTG goes into the tank, and thinks for almost a minute. I really think he's gonna fold, and I'm looking forward to showing my bluff. But he finally calls, and shows his hand, KQ72. He actually calls out his hand as Kings & Twos, even though his 2 doesn't even play. I really think that if the 2 doesn't hit the River, then this dweeb doesn't call.

Of course, I'm the dweeb who lost $324 by trying to bluff someone who is completely clueless. So which one of us is the bigger bonehead?

Me. I should know better, and hopefully I will play more disciplined next time.