Re: bluffing? position?
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coming back to playing PLO8 after playing lots of NLHE
where position and bluffing seem nearly as important as
your cards.
I don't believe that these 2 factors are nearly as
important in PLO8 as your hold cards, especially
bluffing ability.
about equal in both games, i think, are your reads
on the players.
What are your opinions ?
And how do you rank these factors ?
thanks ahead of time.
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daboyz brings up a good point in that you really have to tell us what stakes and how many opponents you're playing against. I assume that since you're just getting started you're playing relatively low stakes and 9 handed.
If so, then yes, you're 100% correct that your cards are going to matter a lot more than bluffing and position, especially bluffing. This is a drastic change from the world of NLHE. If I were teaching someone how to play and I started them off at low limit 9 handed games, I would tell them to not bluff at all for their first few sessions. You will pass up slightly +EV situations, but you'll still be able to win a ton at those levels nut peddling and you'll gain experience and understanding.
As you move up and get better, you must incorporate bluffing into your game more and more. And position is a huge part of bluffing in PLO- its much easier to bluff in LP. Let me give you an example of a perfect time to bluff and then I'll tell you why it was such a good opportunity:
You have A269 rainbow and limp on the button in a $1/2 PLO8 game. Theres one other limper and the 2 blinds to the flop. Flop comes KQJ rainbow. Everyone checks to you. I'd bet 75-100% of the pot here about 90% of the time. Heres why this is a good situation:
-Everyone checked. Because there are so many possiblities in PLO people rarely check their made hands that aren't total monsters. If someone had the straight they would have to bet to guard against 2 pair making a full house.
-There are no low or flush draws. If the hand was 789 with 2 of one suit, you should be much less likely to bet because those draws are likely to call you(especially if they have both in which case they may even raise you) unless you drastically overbet the pot.
-You have the A and the 9 in your hand, which are 2 of the 12 cards in the deck that make up possible straights.
-Your opponents aren't tricky. Obviously this isn't hard rule and is very read dependant, but at $1/2 full ring most players can profit playing straightforward. If you were at $5/10 shorthanded, for example, I think it'd be much more likely that someone goes for a check raise with their straight or even reads your play as a bluff and comes over the top of you on a re-bluff.
I think your OP is right on the money when you say that cards are the most important, then position, then bluffing. As you can see from the bluff above, position enables you to bluff much more often because in PLO8 players must give their hands away much more often than in HE in order to guard against draws that may beat them. And obviously position is valuable for all of the reasons it is valuable in HE.
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