Special Topics in Omaha 8

[templar999]

Over a long lunch a couple of weeks back, I sat down with an old pro at this game. Well, he's not really a pro, but a serious recreational player. He was a consistent winner at mixed games up to 300/600 and had multiple WSOP cashes in various games before the fields got really big. He's never read any poker books. But given his background in statistics and modeling, and his work for a hedge fund most of his career, I think he's done alright in the numbers department. A John Nash without the schizophrenia if you will.

As always, this lunch involved me grilling him about certain situations that I have recently encountered. And as always, he was able to spot errors in just about every hand, and give me a different, albeit not necessarily the optimal, way to approach these hands should they arise next time. Note to self: anybody who thinks they played a near perfect session according to the FTP has an ego problem bordering on God complex. Anybody who thinks they played even 35% correctly according to the FTP for an entire session doesn't understand the FTP. It's amazing how many errors even the best and most profitable players make.

Okay enough babbling. Near the conclusion of our lunch, after a martini or two, the conversation went towards hands and plays that come up frequently but are rather fluid, i.e., it doesn't matter much what you do, since these cards play themselves. For instance, against one limper in MP with A25Q suited to the ace, both a raise and a call are reasonable. What you should do would depend on a variety of conditions present in your game. However, after my discussion with him, I'm beginning to rethink a few things. What troubled me wasn't that we disagreeed, sometimes vehemently, on a couple of them. What troubled me was that his adamant insistence that there was exactly one right answer to a lot of these questions. True or false, either or. Granted, we are talking about the very minutiae of the game, rather than general principles. Over the course of a year of playing, it's unlikely you'll notice anything but the slightest difference in your results. But if I cant post it here, where else would I go?

Again, this is yes or no, true or false, either one or the other. Assume an average middle limit table, with a mix of players, and a variety of playing styles. If you need to make further assumptions, please do so, but one caveat: no assumptions about the specific raiser(s). You might as well assume he just sat down.

And sorry for the lame title. It's based off a pretty good book I'm reading.

1. A234 v. A236. Which is the better hand?
2. If you never played a hand without AA, A2, or A3 outside of the blinds, you are not giving up much of anything at all.
3. If you never played a hand without a suited ace outside the blinds, you're not giving up much of anything at all.
4. A279 in MP is profitable against a raise from EP.
5. A34Kds is an automatic reraise on the button with no other limpers, if you decide to play the hand at all.
6. A34Kds is an automatic reraise on the SB with no other limpers, if you decide to play the hand at all.
7. A399 should always be opened on the button.
8. A3QT/A3QJ rainbow is worth 2 more bets in the BB, assuming no other limpers.
9. The more limpers there are, the more liberally I complete the SB, i.e., with 6 limpers, my hand is most irrelevant.

This guy might be super bright, super rich, and have a super hot model wife, but I'll still take Buzz's math in this game over his 7 days a week and twice on Sunday. I really want to prove him wrong.

Enjoy.

Addendum: #2 and #3 should also exclude those instances where you are stealing or semi-stealing in position. Assume zero folding equity preflop.